A Shield That Needs Protecting
by flames.of.passion
Summary: Isabella McGowan is in for a rough ride. With parents gone, a single trusted friend, and more friends disappearing, Bella can't help but push away Edward, the one person who she's been waiting for to save her. AU. Original pairings. Rated M for a reason.
1. Welcome to Hell

A/N: You need to read this to get the story! Ok, so all original pairings, and yes the family is still vegetarian. I forgot when the kids other than Edward found Carlisle and Esme so let's just pretend that they joined the family sometime between 1900 and 1920. Some things may be off a little bit for the time period, so bear with me. This is AU to be clear. This really doesn't follow the original sotry line whatsoever, but the characters are all there, with a few new ones.

Rated: M for rape, language, abuse and references to torture.

Also, I own nothing.

**Chapter One: Welcome to Hell**

Bella's POV

I was born in Ireland in 1922. My parents were head over heels in love. It was the roaring twenties. They had me when they were both in their early twenties. We moved to England in 1927 when I was 5. It was a change, but I liked it. My mother and father were both against war. Tensions in Europe started to rise when I was growing up. When I was about 14 in 1936, the Nazis were all over the place gaining power. The English government opposed this party, but there were some sympathizers. These people demonstrated their power by attacking anyone against their views or the war. They got their hands on some information and came for my parents and me one night. I had just gotten back from dance rehearsal. It was about 7:30 pm, and we had just finished dinner. My mother was asking me about our upcoming performance when we heard shouting and blasts down the street. My eyes went wide and I turned to my mother.

"Mum, what's going on?" She glanced at me and then the front door that was left ajar with my father standing just outside the doorway. My mother and I were about to see what all the commotion was when my father slammed the door and locked it. His eyes were hard.

"Go get your things. It's time." He ran up the stairs. I was so shocked I couldn't move. My father yelling took me out of my trance, as the blasts got closer.

"Isabella! We have to go! They're burning all the houses! They know we're here!" He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the back door down the alley. I caught sight of my friend Teagan's house. It was engulfed in flames. Her parents were Jewish, but they had raised her Catholic. My father pulled me out into the street as we ran from the oncoming mob. I grabbed hold of my mother while my father searched around for a hiding place. I saw Teagan running not too far away from me.

"Teagan!" I shouted. "Over here!" She didn't hear me. "Grá!*" She turned right away, knowing it was me from the nickname I called her. She ran over to us, hysterical.

"They got my parents! They're gone!" She sobbed. I hugged her and pulled her toward an alley. My mother and father were hiding in an old clubhouse my friends and I used as children. It was in an alley, well hidden and away from the street. I hadn't realized how close the mob was when I turned for the alley with Teagan. My eyes widened as angry men pushed us to the curb. I searched for Teagan and saw here trying to fight off a man. I ran at him shouting.

"Get away from her!" I pushed him into the crowd and pulled Teagan up. We went to run when we felt big hands cover our mouths and hold us still. The last I remember before blacking out was my mother running out of the alley screaming for the men to let us go. The last image I have of my mother was of a man shooting her at point blank range.

When I woke up, I smelled gasoline. I looked around and saw Teagan, lying next to me. I shook her. I shouted in my thick brogue.

"Teagan! Wake up!" I heard another voice.

"Shh!! She'll wake up soon enough. My name is Charlot." I looked over from where the voice came. There was a woman who looked to be in her 20s with brown hair and green eyes.

"Where are we? What happened?" I was so nervous. She hugged me sensing my discomfort.

"We're in a truck. Probably on our way to Germany or Italy." I stared at her wide-eyed. How long had I been out of it? I heard a groaning and saw Teagan stirring. I scrambled over to her.

"Teagan!"

"Bella, where are we? What happened?" She had tears in her eyes.

"Teag, we're in a truck somewhere. Charlot said we're probably headed to Germany or Italy." Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Bells! They're gone! I'll never see my parents again!" She sobbed. I held her closer. I doubted I would ever see my father again. The truck suddenly halted sending me flying toward the door.

"Ah! Shit!" I rubbed my head as the door was swung open to reveal 6 or 7 Nazi guards. They all looked to be around 20 to 25, all with blonde hair and blue eyes. One grabbed my arm roughly and yanked me out of the truck. I stumbled out. The other women were pulled out as well. There were 20 of us. I grabbed Teagan, and we held each other close as we were marched to an official looking building. We were told to line up according to age. Teagan and I were at the end of the line since we were only 14. We held onto each other while a guard walked down the line inspecting each of us. He grabbed me roughly and I fell to the floor. He bent down and grabbed my face. My eyes were so full of hate. He let go of my face and pulled me up. I heard another call him Ritter. A door slammed open and in walked a very powerful looking man.

"Hören!** You will be silent during inspection. Speak when spoken to. If you are not, well, just hope you are." He smirked a dark smirk. He and two other guards proceeded to go down the line and question each girl, turn them, inspect them and write something down. When they got to Teagan, I looked at her and then at the guard who threw me down. He gave me a stern look and I whipped my head to face front. They moved in front of me. All three of the men towered over my 5'4" body. The man with the clipboard spoke first.

"Name?"

"Isabella McGowan." I answered. The one guard made a face at my accent.

"Date of Birth?"

"September 13, 1922."

"Country of origin?"

"Ireland."

"Mother's name and maiden name?" I fought back tears.

"Rose Avery."

"Father's name?"

"Ardal McGowan." A single tear fell down my cheek. A guard stepped forward and turned me to the right. The man who I assumed to be the warden motioned for me to pick my arms up. I obeyed and stuck my arms out. They sifted through my hair for lice, measured my height, my feet, and took notes on me. When they were done, they held up an eye exam paper a couple of feet away from me.

"Read as far as possible." The guard ordered in a thick German accent. I read all the way down to the last line. The warden was impressed and told me to step back. The guards then came forward and took a girl from the line. A guard grabbed Teagan and me and put us with a group near the warden. Charlot grabbed us and held us close.

"Nehmen Sie sie in das Lager." He pointed to the other group that had 5 girls of the 20. Charlot gasped. She understood some German.

"What?" I whispered. She had a sad look on her face.

"Those girls are going to one of the camps." The one guard, Ritter, gave me a look and shushed us. A tear escaped my eye and fell. After the other girls left, the warden came over to us and gave us a warm smile. I wanted to throw up.

"You all will be coming with me. We will leave in 2 hours. Ritter, Heinrich, Terrill. Take them to a bunk, have them bathed, and have the nurses change their clothes." The guards nodded and herded us out the door. Ritter pulled Charlot, Teagan, and me apart and separated us. I kept my mouth shut, but tensed up. He was still holding my arm rather tight. It wasn't until I noticed we were going in a different direction that I knew something was wrong. I didn't care anymore.

"Where are we going?" I demanded. He just looked straight and kept walking. He dragged me behind a building and pushed me against the wall. He forced his mouth on mine. I tried to scream but all that came out was a muffle. I struggled against his grip causing my body to rub against his. I felt his hardness through my clothes. My eyes widened as he came up for air. I took this chance to scream, but he covered my mouth.

"You make one more noise and you'll regret it." I could tell he saw the frightened look in my eyes. His mouth was on mine again and I made a disgusted face as he kissed down my jaw. I heard him unzipper his pants. My eyes went wide as I struggled out of his grip. He rammed up against the wall as he pulled my skirt up.

I was still in my dance clothes. I let out a whimper when I felt him push into me. He covered my mouth as tears fell down my face. I shut my eyes and prayed it would be over soon. When he was done, I fell to the ground and saw a line of blood down my inner thigh. Shit. He threw a piece of cloth at me.

"Clean yourself up, Irish scum." I bit back my tongue and wiped the blood off my legs. He pulled me up and dragged me into the bunk where the other girls were taking showers. I was left alone to shower and change into the clothes that were provided for me. I scrubbed my whole body trying to wash the filth off of me. When I dried myself off, I put on the clothes that were left for me. There was a skirt that came a little above the knee, a button up blouse, stockings, and some shoes. I came out of the shower confused. I looked around to find Teagan. Everyone had the same clothes on. I finally spotted her sitting in a chair by the window. She looked at me and ran over. She threw her arms around me.

"Where were you? I couldn't find you anywhere." She sounded really scared. I took a deep breath.

"One of the guards, the one they called Ritter, dragged me behind the building and- and he- he –he raped me." Tears flowed down my face. I thought I had cried myself dry, but alas, they were flowing. Teagan just held me. A door opened and in walked the warden. He cleared his throat.

"Now girls, you will be separated into 3 groups of 5. The first will come with me. The second Ritter. The third with Heinrich. Now when I call your name, stand by the door. " He proceeded to call names. When he was done, he looked at them.

"You are Group 1. Now for Group 2." I closed my eyes pleading with God not to be in this group. I didn't hear my name when he was finished. I sighed with relief and looked at Ritter who had an annoyed look on his face.

"Now for the third group: Abbey Ross. Peri Markinson. Teagan Murphy. Samantha Sardin and Isabella McGowan." Charlot wasn't in our group. I stepped forward with Teagan.

"Now, you will each go with your group." We followed Heinrich out the side door not knowing we would never see Charlot again. We walked alongside the back of the building I stopped for a moment and stared at the ground. There was a small trail of blood on the bottom of the wall indicating that this was where it happened. I continued to walk with the group. Henirich stopped us. We all got into the car he motioned to. I just sat back as we traveled for who knows how long. We had all fallen asleep.

I woke as the car lurched to a stop in front of a large beige house. It was early morning. How long were we in the car? I walked beside Teagan as a man walked out of the house followed by a younger boy probably around my age. He smirked at Teagan. She tensed. I put my arm around her shoulders. The older man, probably his father spoke up first.

"Piacere, Heinrich. I'll take it from here." I understood little Italian, but that was definitely Italian. Heinrich nodded and bowed to the man. He got in the car and drove off. The man smiled at us.

"Well, I suppose they didn't tell you what you were to be doing here." We shook our heads. "Very well, we shall show you around. My name is Vincent Ricci. This is my son, Peter. Come along." They led the way into the house. There were so many servants. Why would they need more? We stopped in various places where he sent a girl to learn how to work that specific job. Teagan and I were the only ones left. He turned to us.

"You two are going to be mine and Peter's maids. Nadia will tell you what you need to do. Now," he paused and looked at a paper," Isabella will be my maid, Teagan will be Peter's." They walked away and left us with Nadia. She took our hands and led us upstairs to their respective bedrooms. She talked as we followed.

"Every morning before 9, you will bring the masters breakfast and open the curtains. Do anything they ask and don't hesitate. After they are up and about for their daily activities, you will make the beds and fluff the pillows. You are to assist then with anything they ask. If they call you stop what you are doing and go to them. Any questions?" We both shook our heads. She sighed and leaned in toward us, whispering.

"Welcome to hell."

* I'm pretty sure it means "love" in Gaelic.

**pretty sure it means 'Listen' in German


	2. Burn in Inferno

_AN: I don't own any of this except the plot and the made up people. _

_**Chapter 2:Burn in Inferno**_

_Teagan and I had been here for a little over a week. I can describe it in three words: It is hell. Just like Nadia said. Every morning I would knock on Vincent's- I mean _Master's_- door and set his breakfast on the bedside table. Then I would open the curtains and put some wood in the fireplace. Then I would sit on a stool in the corner until he asked something of me or until he was done eating. He would get up and go about his daily activities, which consisted of bathing, going off somewhere, to work or someplace else, come home, go to his study, come out for dinner, go back to his study, and go to bed. After he was out of the room, I would make the bed, fluff the pillows, take the tray of food down to Abbey in the kitchen, and then do other things for the Master. I would do his laundry, tidy his study, get the paper for him, etc. If there was nothing to do, I would help Peri and Samantha clean. I was scrubbing the floors with Peri one day when we heard a crash come from upstairs. I looked at Peri with a nervous look. Her eyes were wide. Her voice had confusion in it._

"_All the servant's are down here except-"_

_My eyes were wide. "Teagan." We bolted upstairs with Samantha and Abbey trailing us. We heard another crash. It sounded like it was coming from Peter's room. I tried the door, which was locked. I told the girls to stand back as I kicked at the door. It opened. _Thank God for dance._ We moved through the door to find Teagan on the bed with Peter on top of her with his hand over her mouth. She was struggling underneath him. I ran at them._

"_Get off of her." I tugged at his arm. "Let go! You're hurting her!" He let go of Teagan and pushed me off of him. He slapped me and I fell to the floor. This gave Teagan time to run over to the other girls. Peter stood over me as I held the right side of my face._

"_If you ever enter my room like that again, you will regret it. I think I shall tell father about this." He smirked and strutted out of the room. I took a deep breath and walked over to Teagan._

"_Are you alright?" She nodded. _

"_Ok, I'll ask Vincent if I may have permission to switch with you. Maybe he'll listen." I hugged her, and we took her down to Helen, the housekeeper. Helen took her to the servant girls' rooms and fixed her up. I made sure to get to Master before Peter. When he got home that night, I made his tea and brought it to the study just as he sat down. He smiled approvingly._

"_You've been very obedient to me since you arrived. I think a reward is in order for your good behavior. Is there anything I can do for you?" He looked me up and down. _Ugh. Fucking pig. _I pretended not to notice. I put on an innocent, but concerned voice. My cute brogue was the cherry on top of the sundae. _

"_Sir, I know it's not my place to ask such a favor, but I'm very much concerned about Teagan." He nodded._

"_Go on."_

"_You see, earlier today, I was scrubbing the entrance hall floor with Peri when we heard a crash upstairs. We knew that Teagan was the only one upstairs, so we went to see if she was all right. When we reached the top of the stairs, we heard another crash that came from Master Peter's room. We went to the door and were about to knock when I heard a sort of muffled scream so we entered and found that Master Peter had attacked Teagan. I tried to stop him, but he is much stronger than me, you see." He looked a little slighted, but let me continue._

"_I see. What is your request?"_

"_I was just wondering if it were possible to switch jobs with Teagan. She was very shaken up afterward, you see. I think that being around him alone would frighten her even more and prevent her from doing her duties to their fullest extent. Perhaps, I could be Master Peter's maid, and Teagan could be your maid, Master. She works just as hard as I do." I smiled a hopeful smile. He nodded and looked as if he were thinking it over. _

"_Very well. If it would hinder her working ability, I think it would be wise for her to work as my maid. Well, it is settled. Starting tomorrow, you will work as Peter's maid." I curtsied. _

"_Thank you very much, sir." He nodded and motioned for me to leave. I walked out of the study, proud of myself. I couldn't wait to tell Teagan. When I got to our room, I saw her lying on her bed facing away from me. _

"_Teagan! You won't believe what just happened! I talked to Vincent and-" I stopped short as I saw her face. My eyes were full of shock. There were bloodstains on the sheet. I looked back into her eyes. A tear fell down her cheek._

"_Peter came to finish what he started." _

"_Oh my God. Well, at least you won't have to face him everyday now. I got us switched." She smiled at me grateful. _

"_Thank you." I sighed._

"_Teagan, I've got to go get someone."_

"_No! If I get thrown out of here, I don't know what'll happen to me!" She started to cry. Just then, Samantha, Abbey, and Peri came in laughing. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Teagan. Abbey was the first to speak._

"_Bella, we have to tell someone." I pinched the bridge of my nose._

"_I told Vincent about the attack earlier and got Teagan and me switched. I came down here to tell her and found her like this. I'm going to get Helen and Vincent. This needs to stop. Now." I walked out of the servants' room and to Helen's room. I knocked. Helen answered the door._

"_What can I help you with, dear?" She smiled sweetly._

"_He attacked Teagan again." My voice was grim. Her smiled melted away. "Can you go to her?" She nodded and whisked down to the room. I quickly but quietly walked to Master's room and knocked. I took a deep breath. Master answered the door. He looked surprised._

"_Yes, Bella?"_

"_Master, I'm very sorry to disturb you-"_

"_There was no disturbance." I nodded._

"_You see, I went to Teagan's room to tell her of the switch and I found her on her bed. She was badly bruised and we think she was-" I took a deep breath to keep from crying, but one lone tear fell down my cheek, "she was raped. I asked her what happened. She said that Master Peter had 'come to finish what he started.'" I looked down. I waited for him to say or do something._

"_Where is she?"_

"_She is still in our room. Helen is looking after her." He walked past me. I closed his door and followed. We reached the servants' quarters. Helen was sitting on the bed comforting Teagan. The other girls were huddled around her. When they heard Master's footsteps, they stepped back to let him through. I stood next to Samantha. Vincent looked over Teagan's frightened face. He shook his head and turned toward Helen._

"Invia per Dottore Rossi, Helen." I knew something must have been really bad. He never spoke Italian around the girls unless it was either A) something to do with his work or B) something was gravely wrong. Helen swiftly left the room. I heard her speaking to who I assumed to be this Doctor Rossi. Helen came back after hanging up with Doctor Rossi.

"He will be here within the hour." She walked over to Teagan and put a cold rag on her face. Just then, we heard Peter upstairs searching for his father.

"Father?" called his muffled voice. His footsteps pounded down the stairs.

"Father, I need to speak-" He stopped. All eyes were on him. Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Pietro, ho bisogno di parlare con voi." Vincent walked up the stairs. I heard him close the door to our room. Helen left us in charge of Teagan. Abbey sat beside Teagan. I spoke first.

"I'll be right back." I quietly walked to the door, pressing my ear against it. Maybe I could hear them. I heard muffled voices, but I could make out whose voice was Peter's and whose voice was Vincent's.

"Peter, I will send you to the institute if you do not stop." He didn't sound very commanding.

"Father, are you going to let petty servant girls run your mind against me?"

"Of course not, Peter. They are servants, and you can have your way with any one of them, but if we have company over, I can't have my servants all battered up." My hand covered my mouth, keeping me from shouting. I had heard enough. I walked back to the girls with a look of defeat on my face.

"I heard what Vincent told Peter. He isn't going to do anything about this. He said, 'You can have your way with any one of them, but I can't have them all battered when we have company.'" I put my head in my hands.

"I thought servants weren't supposed to be peeping Toms." I gasped. Peter was standing in the doorway behind me. His father was behind him. "Wouldn't you agree, Father?" Vincent looked at me and motioned for me to follow him. I sighed and did as I was told. When I walked past Peter, he grabbed my hair and pulled me back.

"If you ever do anything like that again, there will be hell to pay." I wanted so much to punch him. He let go and I walked away. I went up to Vincent's room and knocked.

"Come in Bella." I opened the door quietly and moved inside. I closed the door and stood there quietly.

"Yes, Master?"

"I don't know what to do with you Bella. You are a very good maid, but all this trouble that you've caused is no good. Tsk Tsk." That **I **caused? Try that little brat you call your son. He continued.

"I know that you think it is Peter's fault, but give him a break. His mother died. He doesn't know how to treat women. What do you say we put this little misunderstanding behind us?" I tried to bite back my tongue, but stupid me had to run my mouth off.

"This wasn't a misunderstanding. Peter attacked Teagan twice in one day and all he gets is a slap on the wrist?" I instantly covered my mouth. Shit. Vincent walked calmly over to me.

"If that's how you see it.." And then I was on the ground. He had punched me. My nose was bleeding. He kicked me repeatedly in ribs.

"You see, Peter is just an amateur. If you don't attack visible parts, no one knows that you've been a bad servant." He kicked me once more before dismissing me. I stood up stiffly. I wiped the blood off my face, curtsied and stalked down stairs, wincing the entire way from my ribs. When I reached our room, I pulled up my blouse to see what the damage was. The other girls gasped. I was bruised. No permanent damage, though. Samantha, who was rather quiet, spoke up.

"Bella, we need to get away from here. Who knows who could be next?" Her voice was filled with fright.

"Samantha, all we know is that we're in Italy somewhere. Even if we did escape, there could be German guards everywhere. Do any of us want to be caught by them?" I shook my head trying to think of something. "Well, Switzerland is on the border. If we can make it there, we might have a chance of making it home." Abbey and Samantha were from England, Peri from Ireland.

"Well, if we're going to do this, we'll need money. I found a little while cleaning. I think there's about 5 lire here." Peri said, hoping to be helpful.

"We'll need more than that." Abbey spoke up. She looked like she was trying to think of something. I had an idea, a dangerous one, but it was an idea.

"I could see if Peter has any in his room when I'm cleaning." Teagan looked at me.

"Bells, you could end up like me." I sighed.

"Well, when we have enough, I could swipe some from him the day before we do this." We all agreed it was a plan. Abbey's face lit up.

"I have an idea." We all looked her way.

"Vincent gives me money to go to the market twice a week to get food and supplies. I could take a little from that and just say that the prices went up. If I take the same amount every time, he won't notice." She smiled proudly. It was brilliant, only there was one catch and Peri caught it.

"But doesn't Nadia go with you? She might tell."

Samantha had an idea. "We could take Nadia with us. Isn't she from Switzerland? She could go home." We all nodded.

"Ok, Abbey are you going to the market tomorrow?" I asked. She nodded. "I'll ask Vincent if I could go with you instead of Nadia." Teagan spoke up from her bed.

"He'll get suspicious."

"I'll tell him that we need more laundry soap and flint for the fire."

We all agreed that we would wait for a while to save money. We let Nadia in on our plan. She was ecstatic. She said that she had been saving up for a while and gave the money to us to hide. Every time she and Abbey went to the market, they took 4 out of the 15 lire Vincent gave them. He just went along with our story of the prices rising.

4 months later

Tomorrow was the night of action. We had saved up about 32 lire a month from the market money. We had 128 lire from that plus the 178 lire that Nadia had saved before we came. Peri had found more money when she was cleaning. It wasn't much since it was loose change, but it was something. That came to about 16 lire. I had found Peter's stash of money when I was cleaning one morning. I was going to take about 50 lire right before we left so he wouldn't suspect anything. We would have about 372 lire when we ran. We were going to wait until the dead of night to go. When everyone was asleep that night, I put on my cloak and my shoes. Abbey and Nadia had gone to the market and bought everyone travel shoes one day. When they came back they hid the shoes and told the Master that prices for food went up again. Nadia had arranged for a hiding place in the market with a trusted friend of hers. We would hide there until it was safe for us to travel again. The woman, Maria, was going to put the horses in her stables behind the cows and her horses so no one would find them and recognize them. They were sneaky little devils. Samantha tapped my shoulder.

"Don't put on your shoes, they'll make too much noise. Go get the money. We'll be waiting here with your shoes. Everyone will be ready when you come back. Be careful." I nodded and helped her wake everyone up. They all got ready. Teagan and Peri had gone to get Nadia. They all waited in the hidden alcove in the entrance hall while I went to get the rest of our travel money. I tiptoed up the stairs and down the hall toward the Masters' rooms. I heard snoring from Vincent's room. I breathed a sigh of relief. I swiftly got to Peter's room and thankfully heard snoring. I eased the door open quietly and moved toward his desk. I opened the deep top drawer and pulled out the box he kept his money in. I quietly took out 50 lire and put the box back. I stepped lightly to the door and shit it quietly. I ran quietly on my toes down the stairs. I tapped quietly on the floor twice to signal the girls that it was me. They came out one by one. Peri handed me my shoes and my bag. I put them on quietly as we moved toward the door. Once I was out, Teagan shut the door quietly, and we bolted for the stables. We each took a horse and led them quietly out to the gate at the end of the driveway on the grass. The gravel would have made too much noise. Nadia opened the gate, and we each mounted our horses and hung our bags off of the horn of the saddle. We quietly steered our horses to the other side of the gate and looked back at our prison.

"Burn in inferno." We all said in unison. We turned our backs and rode off toward the market.


	3. Gone

AN:I own nothing. -_-

**Chapter 3: Gone**

We rode on the grass to prevent the hooves from making noise on the gravel. When we reached town, there was a single candle flickering in the window of the shop where we were to go. We knocked quietly on the door three times to signal Maria that it was us. She came out and smiled at us.

"You girls are very brave to be doing this. Follow me." She led us around to her stables. We led our horses to the back and had them lay down. We stripped all of their equipment off and rubbed and scratched it so no one would recognize the equipment. We went back to the house and grabbed some brooms. Each of us went down the road sweeping away the hoof prints leading to Maria's door. I gave Peri a high-five and quietly ran back to Maria's. She led us upstairs.

"Ok. So you all are going to disguise yourselves and work down in the shop with me, so if anyone comes searching they won't think to search the workers. Go into the room across the hall and grab some of my daughter's clothes. She doesn't live here anymore. Her things should fit you two." She pointed to Teagan and me. We nodded and went across the hall. I grabbed a long working dress and apron. Teagan had a brown skirt and a white working shirt. We walked back to Maria's room. Peri, Samantha, Nadia, and Abbey were all sorted out. Maria then led us to another room down the hall which was her other daughter's room.

"Two of you can sleep in here. Two in the other room. Two in the guest room at the end of the hall. I'll let you get settled in. I'll wake you about an hour after I get up. Good night." Peri and Nadia took the guest room; Abbey and Samantha took the younger daughter's room; Teagan and I got the older daughter's room. Teagan looked over at me.

"Bells, how far do you think we have until Switzerland?" I shrugged.

"We'll ask Maria tomorrow where exactly we are. That should be enough to guess the distance. Good night, Teag."

"Night, Bells."

The next morning, Maria gently shook me. That was the best night of sleep I ever had. Maria spoke softly.

"Would you be a dear and wake Teagan up? I need to start setting up shop." I nodded.

"We'll be down in a minute." She smiled and left the room. I shook Teagan.

"Teagan. You have to wake up now." She groaned.

"Go away." I rolled my eyes.

"Teag. Come on. I'll throw water on you. You know I will." She sat up and narrowed her eyes and threw a pillow at me.

"I'm up. I'm up." She mumbled and searched around for her clothes. When we were finally ready we went downstairs. Nadia, Samantha, Abbey, and Peri were already down there. We waited with them for Maria. She came in with a wooden box that was beautifully decorated.

"Ok. Since what's his name is obviously going to notice that you ran away, we need to change your appearance. I have scissors, makeup, headbands, and other things in here that you can use. I'll be in the shop. Come down when you're ready." She smiled warmly and whisked down to the shop. Abbey sighed.

"I have no idea how to do my hair or makeup or anything." I giggled.

"I'll help you." I sat her down.

"Look straight ahead. I'll do your hair. No one will recognize you afterward."

We giggled. Teagan covered her freckles with some makeup; Peri put freckles on her face. We smiled at each other and went downstairs. Maria was waiting for us.

"Ok. Abbey and Bella will work in the shop. Nadia and Samantha will work the cart outside with me. Peri and Teagan, can you two watch the stables? We don't want anyone sneaking around. Just feed the chickens, milk the cows, and clean the horses. If that's finished before we close, would you mind doing some laundry for me? Get water from the canal. It's actually clean." She giggled. "Ok. I'll leave you to it." We each took up the post we were given. Abbey and I were doing well in the shop. We had some customers and no one was suspicious of us. Peri and Teagan were in the stables because we couldn't really make them look any different. Maria was outside with Samantha and Nadia in case anyone came. I heard the door open when Abbey and I were trying to get something down from the tall bookcase.

"We'll be with you in a moment." A masculine hand reached up and got the basket we were reaching for.

"Here you go, ma'am." I turned.

"Thank y-" My voice cracked. Standing in front of me was the bane of our existence. Peter. I cleared my throat. "Thank you." I put the basket down. "One moment." I turned to Abbey. "Can you come with me to ask Miss Maria something?" My eyes circled towards Peter. She straightened up.

"Of course. I needed to get something outside anyway." We walked calmly outside. We spoke in hushed voices.

"Maria, Peter is here. He didn't recognize us; I doubt he recognized you. He walked right by you. In case he goes around back, we need to get Peri and Teagan upstairs or hidden. He might recognize them." Maria nodded.

"Abbey, go and take care of him like he was a regular customer. Nadia, you go with her. Samantha, go with Bella and get Teagan and Peri upstairs. I'll stay here." Sam and me bolted to the back of the house to the stables. We pushed them into the stables and shut the doors. Samantha informed them of the situation while I watched the door.

"Peter is here. He didn't recognize any of us, but he might recognize you two. We're gonna get you upstairs so he doesn't find you." They nodded. We crept to the back door. I opened it a crack and swiftly closed it.

"He can see to the back door. He'll see them." Peri looked up to the window to her room.

"Do we have a ladder?" I shook my head.

"We have rope." I looked at Teagan. I sighed.

"You're gonna do it, aren't you?" She nodded simply and grabbed the rope. Samantha went around front and casually walked up the stairs. She came to the window and opened it. We threw the rope. She tied it to a sturdy tree branch near the window. Peri went first and nearly fell down. She started laughing.

"SHH!!" She clamped a hand over her mouth and continued to climb. She swung into the window and landed quietly on the balls of her feet. I was next. I climbed the rope and sat on the branch to help Teagan up. She slipped and accidentally kicked the door. Her eyes went wide, and she scrambled to get up the rope. Abbey ran outside. She whisper-yelled.

"What are you doing? Peter heard you! And he's coming out right now." I looked at the door.

"Oh shit." I leaped to the window and grabbed the sill. Peri and Samantha helped me up. Teagan was next. She grabbed the sill. Her foot slipped and the back door opened. We all froze. Good thing Abbey was spontaneous. She took Peter's arm.

"Would you like to see the stables? Our horses are the finest this side of town." She casually looked over her shoulder. We were heaving Teagan in the window. She came crashing in. Abbey coughed and we hurriedly pulled the rope up just in time. We heard Abbey and Peter come back in the house and the front door close. We looked at each other sprawled across the floor and on top of each other. We were all in hysterics when Abbey came upstairs. All of us looked at her and stopped laughing.

"Peter's gone." We started laughing again. Maria ran upstairs to see what all the commotion was about.

"What happened?" Nadia snickered then told her how we were trying to hide Teagan and Peri, our method of getting up here, and how Teagan smothered us all when she came crashing into the window. She leaned against the doorframe and fanned herself.

"You almost gave me a heart-attack." We all smiled sheepishly. I had almost forgotten.

"Maria, I forgot to ask you. What town are we in?"

"Oh, this is Massa Marittima."

"How far are we from Switzerland?"

"To get to Switzerland, that's about a 4 day journey-"

"That's not too bad." Samantha butted in.

"-in a car." Our faces fell. Maria continued.

"I don't know how long it'll take to get there on horses and foot. But I do have some good news. I've arranged for you to leave tonight. A friend of mine is against all of this madness and said that he and his sons will help you. They'll take you as far as Milan. There you'll go with his sister. Her and her husband will take you over the border. Once you're there, go to the nearest city and go to the police. Tell them who you are, where you come from, and what happened to you."

"Ok," we all said in unison. We went to our respective rooms and packed what little belongings we had. Maria let us keep the clothes to travel in. I woke in the middle of the night. I could hear Teagan's feet padding across the room.

"Teagan, what are doing?"

"It's time to go. I was just about to wake you." I got up and changed into my travel clothes. We grabbed our packs and met up with Abbey and Samantha in the hall.

"Peri and Nadia are downstairs with Maria." Abbey informed us.

"Ok," I answered, "let's go." We softly padded down the stairs. Maria took us to the stables where we got our horses. We led them out and onto the grass. We rode through the meadow and to the river. There a man and 5 young men stood.

"Hello," he greeted us, " My name is Francis. These are my sons: Frankie, Billy, Thomas, Gregory, and James." He pointed to each son respectively. We dismounted. Francis took the reins from Nadia's horse, Frankie took Abbey's, Billy took Teagan's, Thomas took mine, Gregory took Peri's, and James took Samantha's. Maria hugged us all.

"I hope you make it to Switzerland in one piece. I'll pray for you." She gave us a warm smile. The boys helped us onto our horses. Billy's hand lingered on Teagan's for a few seconds. She blushed. I sauntered my horse next to her.

"I saw that," I teased in a singsong voice. She nudged me as we started along the river.

It had been 2 years since we escaped from Vincent and Peter Ricci. Our journey had been extended that long because of the war. Teagan and I were now 17. We could only travel at night because of the war and all the soldiers and guards everywhere. Maria and Francis planned this out very well. In every town or village we stopped at there was a friend of theirs that let us rest during the day, hid our horses, and made sure we left safely that night. Francis told us it would take a little longer than usual because we were only traveling at night. We were resting one day in a village somewhere when Francis's friend Marc ran upstairs panting.

"Two thieves have stolen 6 of your horses. We tried to stop them, but they got away." Francis sighed.

"It's alright. Thank you for trying my friend. The other 6 can handle two people." It turned out that they had taken Nadia's, Frankie's, Peri's, Samantha's, Billy's, and Thomas's horses. That night when we left, Francis and Nadia shared Francis's horse; Frankie and Abbey took Abbey's. Greg and Peri rode Greg's horse. Sam and James took James's horse. Billy shared with Teagan. Thomas rode with me. It was sort of uncomfortable, but I felt safe in Thomas's arms. It had been a long time since I felt safe. We had been riding for about an hour or two when Francis's whispers broke the silence.

"We're nearing Volterra. There's been a lot of fighting and guards near here. We need to be very quiet and quick about getting passed here." We each nodded and turned toward some tree cover out of the clearing. As we crept through the trees, I kept getting the feeling someone was watching us. I knew it wasn't Thomas who was right behind me. If that was the case, the feeling would have been good not creepy. I glanced around and saw two guards relaxing by a stonewall. I inhaled sharply. My whisper sounded more like a shout in the dead silence.

"Guards. Two of them." Every head turned toward the wall. Francis sped up his horse a little.

"Keep moving. They didn't see us." We kept moving as he said. That stonewall seemed to go on forever. I looked to my right. There was an ominous glow in the distance, like fires and bombing. My breathing increased. Thomas tightened his grip around me in an attempt to calm me down. We didn't realize how close the fighting was until a land mine exploded near us. We were knocked off our horses. I scrambled to my feet covered in dirt. I lost sight of Nadia and Francis. Teagan and Billy were scurrying underneath a fallen tree. I turned around to see where the soldiers were when I tripped over something. I looked back to see Peri's limp body next to Gregory's. I couldn't move. I shook Peri.

"Peri?!" Peri, wake up!" I shouted over and over again. Thomas tried to pry me off of her.

"They're dead! We have to go, Bella!" He picked me up and ran with me. We dove underneath the tree with Billy and Teagan. We watched in horror as James was shot. Frankie was being hauled to a large wagon. He was tied up. I tried not to think of what was going to happen to him. I searched around for Abbey and Sam. I finally caught sight of Abbey's blonde hair being thrown around. She was trying to fight off the soldiers. She managed to knock them off, only to be caught again and thrown to the ground. They tied her up and were literally dragging her to the wagon.

"AHH!! Someone help me! Get off!!" I recognized Samantha's voice at once. My eyes caught sight of her. I choked back tears. Two soldiers had her pinned against a tree and another was beating her. Abbey broke free of her captors and ran to Samantha. She knocked one off and kicked the other in between his legs. The one on the left went for his gun. Samantha punched him in the face and ran with Abbey. Five more guards caught them and tied them up. They were thrown in the wagon with Frankie. I went to crawl out and go after them, but three pairs of hands held me in place. I sobbed into Thomas's chest as our friends were hauled off to what was most likely death. A few hours later Thomas and Billy nudged us. We had fallen asleep.

"We're going to go see if we can find our horses. Stay here no matter what," Billy told us. We nodded as they crawled out alert. I couldn't see them after 10 minutes. It was so dark. They weren't back half an hour later. I was getting nervous now.

"What if they were captured? What if they're hurt?" Teagan attempted to calm me down. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Teagan, I'm going to look for them. Are you coming?"

"They said to stay here."

"What if they're hurt? Or they need our help?" She finally scurried out, and we walked clutching each other. I felt a soft breeze blow past me on my right. I stopped and turned. I felt another behind me. I turned again. Teagan felt it, too.

"What was that?" She asked nervously.

"I don't know." I heard a chuckle.

"Thomas?" There was another. Teagan shouted.

"Billy? This isn't funny." Then the voice spoke.

"Look here. I think the little mouse is afraid." The other voice chuckled and replied.

"I think her little kitty friend is afraid, too." Then one of them emerged and sauntered up to Teagan. She shivered and looked away. The man looked toward the trees behind us.

"I think the little kitten is afraid of me, Demetri." The one called Demetri came out of the trees. I turned to face him. I didn't back down. Demetri spoke.

"I have a feeling that our little mouse is trying to be brave." I spat in his face.

"Tsk. Tsk. Bad mousy." Then I was on the ground. I struggled to move, but it felt like a statue was on top of me. I looked up. Staring back into my deep brown eyes were unnatural scarlet ones.

Then everything was black.


	4. Welcome to the Family

A/N:I own nothing.

**Chapter 4:**

Teagan shook me awake.

"Bella! Bella, please wake up!!" My eyes fluttered open and saw Teagan's frightened face. I shot up and embraced her. We stayed like that for a few minutes until a cold voice broke through the silence.

"Ah, it's like a family reunion. Don't you think so, Demetri?" I remembered this voice. Felix. That was the man's name.

"Now, Felix, what have I told you about playing with your food?" Demetri stepped out of the shadows. I tensed. Felix chuckled.

"I think the little mouse is afraid of you now." Felix stepped out of the darkness. I backed up with Teagan in my arms. I hit the wall. Or what I thought was the wall. There was another one. This one looked more intimidating than the other two. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Felix and Demetri bow their heads.

"Who are you people? What do you want with us?" Teagan asked. She sounded so hurt and petty. The big one in front of us smiled warmly. I wanted to smack him.

"Now little one, we aren't going to hurt you. We simply want to see something. Eleazar, come forth." There was a fourth?! The big one sensed my alarm. His voice rang out.

"How stupid of me. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Aro." His voice sounded too sweet, like there was a hint of a scheme in his voice. He gave us a look asking for our names.

"I'm Is-Isabella." I stammered. I nudged Teagan.

"Teagan." She mumbled. Aro smiled sweetly.

"Such pretty names. And I'm guessing by your accents that you're from England, are you not?"

"I'm from Ireland, but I moved to England." I informed him. He nodded.

"Now, Eleazar. Do you see anything?" Eleazar stepped forward and concentrated on Teagan. He turned to Aro.

"Fire." His voice was deep, yet it sounded like bells. Eleazar then stepped in front of me. He stepped back amazed.

"What is it?" Aro sounded excited.

"I've never seen one in my existence. A shield."

"Wonderful!" Aro clapped his hands together.

"As well as a weapon." Eleazar finished. Aro look astounded.

"This is amazing. Take Isabella-"

"Bella. Just Bella." I cut him off.

"Very well. Take Bella and Teagan to the Hall. Marcus and Caius need to be informed. Then we will make our decision." Aro's tone gave me the chills. Felix and Demetri bowed their heads and took our arms. They led us down a damp corridor. The hall was lined with small stone pillars. Gargoyles were situated on top of them. We stopped in front of a large wooden door. Felix stepped forward and knocked firmly twice. The doors creaked open to reveal a large room with three chairs straight ahead. Sitting in these chairs were Aro and two other men who looked like the rest. What were they? They all had red eyes, very pale and hard skin, and they all had purple shadows under their eyes. Aro read over my face with a puzzled look, like he was trying to read my mind. He floated to me and touched my arm.

"My dear girl, I thought you would have guessed what we are by now." He chuckled.

"I guess our little mouse isn't as smart as we thought, Felix." Demetri chortled. Felix smirked.

"Dear silly girls, we are vampires." Aro spoke so nonchalantly it scared me. I froze where I stood. Vampires?! Teagan almost fell to the ground. The vampire to Aro's left stood and floated to us. I grabbed Teagan and peddled backward.

"Marcus, I think you are scaring the little mouse and her kitten friend." This voice came from the vampire on Aro's right.

"I just want a closer look, Caius, my brother." Marcus stated. His voice was softer than the others, but still firm. It sounded more comforting than the others. Marcus leaned in toward Teagan.

"Her scent is puzzling to me. I sense something impure about her." Marcus's brow furrowed. A single tear fell down her cheek.

"I'm sorry if it bothers you, sir. Something happened to me. I can only guess that is what you smell. Although, I don't know how you could possibly smell that." Teagan's voice was filled with hurt and shame. I hugged her.

"I see," Marcus said, "and what was it that happened to you, dear child?" Teagan started to sob into my shoulder. I gave Marcus a pleading look.

"Please, sir, she was in shock afterward. I don't want her to go through that again." I pleaded.

"Very well. You tell me." His voice was commanding yet strangely understanding.

"She was raped." I tried to get my voice as low as possible. He nodded and leaned his nose in my direction.

"You have a similar scent. It is not as prominent."

"That is because the same happened to me." I tried to stay calm and strong. I could tell that he knew I was trying not to break down. Marcus floated back to Caius and Aro. They spoke with each other for a very brief moment. Then Aro nodded to Felix who came out from the right. Aro's voice was so low and quick I didn't catch anything. Caius nodded to another vampire who came out from the left. Felix stopped and turned toward the other vampire.

"Afton! They finally called you back from war, eh?" Felix chuckled. Afton smirked and looked back toward Teagan. They resumed their walk toward us. Felix stopped in front of me. He lowered his head down to mine.

"Trust me. You'll like being one of us." His cold breath sent shivers down my spine. His nose grazed along my neck and shoulder. I shut my eyes and prayed for him to see mercy. His icy tongue ran along a spot where my neck meets my shoulder.

"Welcome to the family," he said. His sharp teeth pierced my skin. I heard a high-pitched screech and realized that it was me. I grabbed his upper arm in an attempt to make him stop. I continued to scream and then just shut my mouth. The screeching continued. Teagan had been screaming as well when Afton bit her in the same spot. When Felix finally let go, I stammered back and fell to the floor. I started to spasm. My body was on fire. I rolled around trying to put it out. I opened my eyes and saw that there weren't any flames. I turned my head and saw Teagan on the floor. She fainted from the pain. I felt my eyes start to give. I tried to fight off the fuzziness building in my head. I felt the last of my consciousness slip away when a pair of cold strong arms wrapped around me and carried me away.

I don't know how long I was out, but I finally felt the fire start to leave my fingers and toes. My fingers twitched at the sensation. I felt good to move them without the fire. A few hours later, I think, my arms were free. I slipped into darkness again. I woke up again with the fire only around my chest and shoulders. I heard voices around me.

"It shouldn't be long now. She will be marvelous when she wakes." Aro was here?

"Yes. She will be an excellent addition to our family." Marcus's voice was actually comforting. My lips curved into a smile, and the fire shot like a stretched rubber band to my heart. It hurt so much. My back arched off the table. I screamed so loud I swore all of Europe heard me. The fire finally left my body and I shot up. I looked around. This room was strange to me, but that's not what confused me. My vision was so clear. I could see little dust particles on the windowpane. I wouldn't have been able to see that as a human. My eyes flicked at movement in the corner of my eye. I jumped from the table in a flash. Marcus had his hands out in a helpful gesture.

"Bella. You look marvelous. How are you?" Aro's voice was sickeningly sweet. I just went to hell and back twice, and he's acting all innocent?!

"How do you think am?! I just went through hell! My body was engulfed in invisible flames that I couldn't put out! How could you stand there and act like that?!" He waited calmly for my anger levels to come down.

"Bella, dear, we've all been through it. I know how you feel right now." How could he possibly know how I feel?

"Were you torn away from your family?! Were you raped by a Nazi guard?! Were you forced to be a slave in a house run by self-centered Nazi sympathizers?! Were you ripped away from friends who you'll never see again?!" I felt like crying, but no tears escaped my eyes. I looked to Marcus for an answer. His face told me nothing.

"Come, Marcus. We'll leave her to her thoughts." Aro swept from the room. Marcus lingered back. His lips moved inhumanly fast, and his voice was impossibly low, yet I heard every single word crystal clear.

"I'll come by in 10 minutes with Teagan and explain everything." Marcus was actually growing on me. Even though he was somewhat timid and quiet, he was, to me, the most understanding of them all. I noticed for the first time the room I was in. It was enormous. There was a huge bed in the middle of a sky blue carpet. The walls were the same color. No. Just a shade darker. I wouldn't have noticed that before. I walked around this room. There was a balcony overlooking a garden. I explored the room top to bottom. There was another door that I was curious about. As I was about to open it, there was a knock on the door. I opened it and standing there was Marcus and another girl with red hair. I immediately questioned Marcus.

"Where's Teagan? What have you done with her? I swear if she's hurt, you will pay." I was seething. For the first time, Marcus looked frightened by my anger, but then cracked an amused smile. The redhead beside him started giggling.

"Don't recognize me do you, Cara*?" She chuckled. It was Teagan. She knew I hated that childhood nickname. Only Teagan would know that it irritated me. I tackled her immediately.

"Teagan!"

"Bella!" We hugged then stepped back to look at each other. She still had her freckles and fiery red hair, but her face was more defined and angular. She looked good. Her eyes were a deep red, almost black. She said mine were the same.

"Your hair is still the gorgeous brown that I love. Your face is more angular, but soft in a way. You look gorgeous." She sounded so excited. Marcus ushered inside. We sat on the bed. Marcus stood before us like a marble statue.

"Well, I'll start with the basics. Your skin is like marble. If a human punches you or kicks you or anything like that, you won't feel it. Your eyes will stay red when you've fed and will get darker the longer you go without feeding. We feed on blood. You will go out with Felix, Jane, and Demetri tonight. Also, if you go out during the day, stay in the shadows. Sunlight makes our skin glisten, like diamonds. You will stand out. Stick to the shadows and rainy days. Bella, this is your room. Teagan, you've seen yours. Bella, Teagan's room is right through that door." He pointed to the door I was about to open. I nodded. "The beds are merely for show and for you to sit or relax. We never sleep. I'll leave you to explore your rooms. You're free to explore the castle and get to know everyone. In an hour, meet Felix, Jane, and Demetri in the entrance hall." Teagan gave him a puzzled look. "That's the hall next to the one where..." He trailed off.

"Oh," I said. My voice cracked. Marcus stopped in the doorway.

"By the way, do you remember the vampire who stood in front of you and said something about fire and a shield?" We nodded. "Well, some vampires are special and have powers. The Volturi-" he stopped at our puzzled faces- "that's who we are. We sort of, collect these vampires. The man, Eleazar, can sense what power a human might have if they become a vampire. Teagan, you have the power to create and manipulate fire. Just concentrate on fire and it will appear. Manipulating fire is a little more difficult. You need to be very careful. Control could be lost at any time. Bella, you have a mental shield that renders all powers used against you useless. It is all the same as a physical shield, only in your mind. This power is very rare. I don't even know of another shield. We don't know much about shields. Aro and Caius want to see how your power will develop. We will be monitoring your progress and trying different things." Teagan's face bore an expression of amazement. I was a shield?! I was amazed and in awe. Marcus said one more thing before floating into the hallway.

"Welcome to the family."


	5. Daughter of the Volturi

AN: I own nothing. Oh, the year is about 1938 or 1939. I realized it was a bit confusing. Let's just say that it's 1939.

Chapter 5:Daughter of the Volturi

_1 year later_

I watched from the trees as my target crept out from behind a boulder. My lips pulled back into a smirk. My target moved forward toward the river. My plan was simple. Aim. Pounce. Capture. Piece of cake. I crouched ready to spring. The wind whipped through my hair as I flew through the air. I landed on my target and threw him down.

"HA! You lose!" I jumped off of Felix as he glowered at me with a pout on his face. Teagan bounced out of the forest dragging Afton behind her. She stopped a few feet from us and pushed Afton down beside Felix.

"Are you going to admit we're better, faster, and stronger than you?" Teagan exaggerated her voice to sound like she had to be somewhere important. Afton glared at her. Oh, the sexual tension was so obvious to everyone but them. It killed us all that they couldn't see it. Afton was not going to back down. It was always either him or Teagan that challenged the other to a rematch. This had been our 10th rematch. They would then drag Felix and me into the matter. While Teagan and Afton argued with each other, I motioned for Felix to slowly get up and come to me. My voice was low.

"3, 2, 1." Then a fireball was thrown Afton's way. Felix rolled his eyes.

"Teagan, what have we told you about throwing fireballs at Afton?" She glared at him. I snickered.

"No matter how annoying he and his big ego are sometimes?" I had to add my share. Teagan cracked a smile. It took Afton a second to realize what we said.

"Hey!" We broke down laughing at his face. We were snickering the whole way back to the castle. We went through the back gate and into the garden. As Felix opened the door to the castle, Marcus gave us a disapproving look. We glanced at each other out of the corner of our eyes then busted out laughing. Marcus rolled his eyes and cracked a small smirk.

"Aro's not going to like you being consistently late for training, you know." His voice was serious, but had a hint of amusement in it. Afton scratched the back of his head.

"Oops." Afton led the way to the training room. Aro looked a little annoyed, but he let it slide. He thought of Teagan and me as daughters, although I felt more of a father-daughter bond with Marcus. He was more caring and less egotistical than Aro. Marcus had adopted Teagan and me as his daughters. I absolutely couldn't stand Caius. He was so pompous and arrogant. I wanted to beat him until he saw reason. I knew my boundaries and restricted myself to cursing him out in my mind.

"We're going to work on your shield today, Bella." I nodded.

"So, who's going to try and knock down my wall this time? Renata or Alec?" I cracked my knuckles and smirked.

"Actually, we are going to see how you do against Jane. You have been doing very well. We want to see how you do against a stronger opponent. Renata and Alec are strong, but not as strong as Jane." I nodded. Renata and Alec sat on the side and watched. Jane and I stared each other down. We circled each other around the room. I built up my wall and concentrated on strengthening it. I felt Jane push against the wall in my mind. Aro was right. She was strong. I had to concentrate twice as much as I had to do with Renata or Alec. My face tightened. Jane smirked. She could tell I was struggling. My concentration broke for an instant. That was all it took.

"AH! Shit!" I yelled out in pain. Damn. She was strong. Aro put his hand up.

"Jane, stop." I felt the pain recede from me. Aro had an approving look on his face.

"Very good, Bella. For your first time facing Jane, that was impressive. We didn't expect you to last that long." I narrowed my eyes at him and walked over to Demetri. He wanted to work on fighting skills with me today. We went for about an hour and then took a break. I was talking to Teagan, Felix, and Renata when Aro's voice boomed throughout the room.

"Everyone. I have an announcement. A very good friend of mine will be visiting us soon with his family. I want you all to make them feel welcome here." He left the room and floated down the hall. I rolled my eyes and turned to Teagan.

"Another friend. Another spoiled brat that comes along who Aro will try to set up with you." My voice was dripping with mockery. Teagan looked at me.

"Me?"

"Last time, he tried to set the brat up with me. Have you ever noticed how he alternates between us?"

"This is true." She sighed. I nudged Felix.

"Watch this." I said. He smirked. "I might have to tell Aro not to bother with you anymore. Afton might get jealous." I snickered. She turned toward me furious. I started laughing so hard I fell to the floor. Felix couldn't control his laughter. He was on the floor leaning against the wall for support. Renata tripped over him and landed in his lap causing us all to laugh harder. Afton's voice floated across the room.

"I heard that." He sounded annoyed, but he knew it was true.

"I meant for you to hear it." He glared at me and continued to train with Corin. I smirked and turned back to Felix.

"So, did you ask Rennie out yet?" He sighed.

"Not yet."

"Why not?" He really needed a confidence boost.

"She's so powerful and beautiful."

"Well, I would think she's beautiful. She's a vampire." I giggled.

"It's not just that. She's funny. I'm stupid. She's so graceful. I'm clumsy for a vampire." I stopped him there.

"You're clumsy? I think I've already claimed the title of Queen of Clumsiness."

"And I'm the King." He felt proud of his retort. I chuckled and threw my arm around his shoulders. We walked out of the room and down the hall to Rennie's room. I turned to Felix.

"Now, all you have to do is say, 'Hey, Rennie. I just wanted to know if you'd want to do something tonight.' Or something along those lines. Okay?" I sounded way too excited. He opened his mouth to retaliate against me. I was three steps ahead of him. I knocked on the door swiftly and flew down the hallway.

"You'll thank me later, Felix." I hid behind a gargoyle and watched the whole scene erupt. Rennie opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, Felix. What's up?"

"Hey, Rennie. Umm, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go out with me sometime?" He scratched the back of his head, a sign that he was nervous. Rennie had a warm smile on her face.

"I'd love to, Felix. What did you have in mind?" Felix smiled. I felt proud of my work and sprinted down the hall to my room. Teagan was sitting on my bed reading a book.

"Hey, Teag. Your room told me that it's getting lonely. You should go and keep it company." She threw a pillow at me. I dodged it easily. I picked it up and chucked it at her head. She caught it and stood up. I ran out of the room laughing. She chased me all around the castle until we got to the main hall where Aro, Caius, and Marcus received guests, held parties, etc. I didn't realize where I was until I accidentally tripped over a suit of armor in the hall. Teagan tripped over me, not having any time to assess the situation. Someone cleared their throat. We looked up. Caius had his arms crossed. I chuckled nervously. Marcus shook his head in amusement and tried to stifle a chuckle. Aro stepped forward.

"Teagan, Bella, this is my old friend Paulo and his family. This is his wife, Mirari. This is their son, Damien. Paulo and Mirari are from Portugal. Damien is from Greece. He found Paulo and Mirari about 20 years ago." Paulo kissed each of our hands. Mirari hugged us each. Damien kissed us each on both cheeks. His eyes lingered on mine for a few seconds. I smirked and caught his gaze. Aro caught the vibe between us.

"Bella, why don't you show Damien around? I'm sure he is eager to meet everyone." I knew why he was doing this. He was trying to play matchmaker so I could be happy again after everything that happened. He already tried getting Chelsea to make me feel something for Felix. Marcus already told him that what I had with Felix was nothing more than sibling affection. He was the brother I never had. Marcus did, however, tell Aro that he felt something between Teagan and Afton. Aro was quite the little matchmaker.

"I'd love to." I took Damien's hand and led him out of the hall. Just before I left, I heard Aro ask Marcus something.

"Did you feel anything between them, Marcus?"

"Yes. It was small, but it was there."

"I'll have to talk to Chelsea." I rolled my eyes. I would just block out Chelsea and see if my feelings evolved into something more. If they didn't, Damien and I would be friends. I led Damien to the training room first.

"This is the training room. Anyone who has a power usually practices in here. Anyone can train in here though. If you're ever looking for me, there's a good chance that I'll be in here." He smiled. Curiosity was plastered on my face. "Do you have any powers?"

"I can control a person's free will. I don't really use it though." He sounded sort of embarrassed by it.

"That's interesting." We were floating by Afton's room when we heard arguing. I rolled my eyes and kept walking. Damien stopped in front of the door and looked at me. I shrugged.

"Teagan probably provoked him again."

"Afton. Those two are always fighting. Come on." There was another crash. I sighed and opened the door. Teagan and Afton were in a heated argument.

"I did not cheat!" Teagan was seething.

"Well, I say you did! There is no way you could have beaten me!" They still hadn't noticed us. I cleared my throat. Afton turned to us.

"What?"

"Rude much?" He straightened up.

"Sorry. Bella, who is this?"

"Afton, this is Damien. Remember Aro's friend that's visiting?" He nodded. "This is his son. Damien, this is Afton." They shook hands. "You already met Teagan." Teagan smiled sweetly. Afton scoffed.

"Don't believe that innocent look. She's an evil, fire-breathing dragon." I fireball missed his head by inches.

"What did you just call me?!" They were back to fighting. I tried to yell over their screaming.

"Can you not throw around fireballs? Remember what happened last time?" Teagan looked at me and then back at Afton. She pounced on him, and they were on the ground. Damien tapped me.

"Do either of them know that they are perfect for each other? It's really obvious."

"Thank you. Hey morons. Even a total stranger knows you two should get together. So get on with it." Teagan flew off of him and landed on the couch. I shut the door and continued with the tour of the castle. I showed Damien to his room.

"This is your room. Mine is right down the hall if you need anything."

"Ok." His voice was deep, but soft. I smiled and walked to my room. I could feel his eyes on my back. When I got to my door, I looked back at him and smirked. I walked into my room and leaned against the door. He was the first guy that ever lit that little candle in my heart. Teagan's voice interrupted me.

"You know, he's probably dying for you to knock on his door and profess your love for him." She was lying on the couch playing with a small fireball.

"Again, your room misses you."

"I would be in my room, but Afton insists on being an annoying asshole, and his scent is on everything in my room. I plan to get every forest animal I can find and put it in my room to overpower his stench."

"Just make sure to save a mountain lion for me." I laughed sarcastically and paused.

"I think that you don't want to be in there because you love him so much, his scent makes you lose control."

"Maybe, but that-" She stopped short, realizing what I had said.

"HA! You do love him! I got you to admit it! Yes!" I giggled. She shot over to me and put her hand over my mouth.

"Sh! He's in the next room. He'll hear you. I don't want him to know." I stifled a giggle. Afton's voice startled her.

"Too late." Her eyes went wide as she turned. He was sitting casually in a chair throwing a ball in the air. Teagan went to run past him. Afton caught her arm and held it lightly.

I smirked and watched the scene unfold. She looked into his eyes. His head lowered to hers, and their lips touched. I left the room and strolled down the hall. As I passed Damien's room, I leaned my forehead against the door. I sensed him doing the same on the other side. The door swung open and soft lips captured mine. He slammed me against the wall. I pushed him off. Memories from the camp came back to me. He read the expression on my face.

"I'm sorry. What's wrong?" He held me close.

"It's not your fault. Something happened to me when I was still a human. That just brought back memories." He hugged me closer and kissed my forehead.

"Are you ok?" I nodded.

"I'll be fine." I looked up at him and pecked him on the lips. I saw Aro standing at the end of the hallway. He smiled and floated away. I stood up and Damien took my hand. He led me into his room, and he sat down on the couch. I crawled into his lap and caressed his mouth with soft kisses.

"I could stay like this forever." His breath was warm on my neck.

"So could I."

_2 years later_

"What do you mean you're leaving?" My voice was livid. Damien sighed.

"I mean that I'm leaving. I'm going to England to fight against the Nazis." Even though the Volturi lived in Italy, we were against everything Hitler and his partners were doing. We were on America's side.

"Damien, why would you do that? Why would you leave me?" If vampires could cry, I would be bawling right now.

"Bells, I want to go. I want to fight." I stood up and walked away from him. I stood with my back to him and my arms crossed. He came up behind me and put his arms around me. He kissed up my neck. I sighed.

"When do you leave?" My voice was low.

"Tomorrow." My closed. I turned and held him close to me. I don't know how long we stayed that way. I turned to leave and he kissed me fiercely and pushed me onto the bed. I pulled away.

"Damien, I already set limits. I'm not ready."

"Bella, I need you." He forced his mouth on mine. I felt obliged to return it. But I didn't want to. This feeling was strange. He was using his power on me! I tried to block it, but he was too strong. Stronger than Jane. I started to scream.

"Get off of me!" I screamed. His hands were all over my body. "Someone help!" He ripped off my shirt. I struggled against him. He was too strong. One hand held mine above my head and the other undid my pants. They were around my ankles in two seconds. I screeched in his ear, hoping it would at least loosen his grip. I felt his pants go down. Not again. Never again. I tried to kick him off. He bit me and felt a little woozy. I screamed as he pushed into me, hoping someone would hear. He forced his mouth onto mine. I bit his arm. He shouted.

"You bitch!" He slapped me. I clawed at him as he kept pushing into me. I kept screaming, hoping someone would hear me. I heard a banging on the door.

"Bella!" Teagan's voice sounded so comforting. I mustered up my loudest voice.

"Teagan! Help!" Demetri barged in and threw Damien off of me. He picked me up and carried me to the couch where Teagan covered me with a blanket. I heard Demetri fighting with Damien. I heard someone crash into the bookcase. Demetri walked over and picked me up. He sprinted to Marcus's room. Teagan opened the door for him.

"What happened?" Marcus's voice was full of worry.

"Damien." Teagan and Demetri's voices said in unison.

"He's leaving tomorrow. We won't have to worry about him anymore." Demetri put me on the couch. I was sitting on the couch with Teagan when the door slammed open. Damien was standing there. I blocked my mind instantly.

"Get out." My voice was loud and commanding. I wasn't going to back down. "You will never come near me again. You will leave this castle and never return."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" He challenged. I stood up.

"I am the daughter of Marcus. I am the daughter of the Volturi."

With that he turned and walked out. I never felt so proud of myself, but I felt that I could never trust anyone ever again.


	6. Hello America

A/N:I wished I owned something, but alas, I do not.

**Chapter 6:Hello America**

"Bella?" Demetri's voice startled me. I had been secluded in my room for the past week or so. I didn't keep track of the time.

"I'm over here." My voice was lifeless. He sat down next to me on the floor.

"Do you want to talk?" I shook my head. Demetri was like my brother. He was always there for me. He was also overprotective of me like an older brother.

"I'll be ok." I reassured him. He hugged me and smothered me into his chest. I giggled and pushed him off. He smiled and ruffled my hair. I glared at him. Demetri, along with Teagan and Felix, were the only ones I trusted after the Damien incident. Everyone was trying got get me to open up, but I had major trust issues. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes. He nudged me.

"You ever gonna come out? People are going to start thinking you killed yourself." I smirked. His sarcasm always made me laugh for some reason.

"Already dead, smart ass." I playfully punched him in the arm. He acted like it hurt.

"You know, Teagan and Felix are really worried. So is Afton. Renata, too." His voice was serious. I chuckled dryly.

"Rennie, too, eh? Shocking."

"She really does care." I looked at him.

"Ok. She's trying."

"She's hated me ever since I became a vampire and Aro's favorite. And she hates me because I treasure Marcus's love more than Aro's favor."

"No, she doesn't." Afton was losing this battle, badly.

"Bonus point: She can't stand the fact that Felix and I are like siblings. I love him in a brotherly way, not the way she thinks I love him."

"She just isn't used to people stealing her spotlight. I know Felix has talked to her about it. He had to have. They're always with each other." I smirked.

"When did they get together?" He sighed, defeated.

"Last week." Woah. How long was I locked in here?

"I was in here for a pretty long time, wasn't I?" He nodded.

"A week and a half. We were beginning to take bets on when you'd come out." I pushed him, and he chuckled.

"Speaking of bets." I smirked. "How long did it take Felix and Rennie to get together?"

"2 months." I motioned for him to hand over my prize. He handed me the money.

"Haha!" I reached up and put the money in my drawer. He sighed.

"Ready to come out, yet?"

"Ok. But one question."

"Shoot."

"Teagan is standing right outside the door waiting for me to come out so she can pounce on me and bombard me with "Are you okay?" over and over, isn't she?" He nodded.

"Sorry." He opened the door and sure enough, there was Teagan, ready to pounce. She squealed and pounced.

"Bella! Are you okay? I was so worried!"

"Teagan! Calm down. I'm fine." Well, not fine, but I was doing better.

"Bells, you've missed so much! Rennie and Felix are together-"

I cut her off. "Is Caius still an arrogant, son of a-" Afton covered my mouth and looked at me. Teagan answered anyway.

"Yes."

"Was Marcus worried?"

"Mmhmm."

"How was Aro?"

"He was worried, but not like Marcus was. Marcus was more worried because you're his daughter. Aro was worried because he didn't know how this would affect your power." I rolled my eyes.

"On a lighter note, how are things with you two?" Afton smiled. Teagan would have blushed if she could have. Afton grabbed her hand.

"Things are good." His voice was sincere and loving.

"Now that Rennie and Felix and two are together, we just need to find a decent guy for me." I chuckled. They both smiled.

"Talking about it is the first step." Teagan's voice was sarcastic and loving. I slapped the back of her head. She rubbed it and pouted. I cracked a smile.

"Bella!" I turned. Marcus came toward me. He opened his arms. I hugged him. He pulled me close.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He could tell I wasn't lying. I pulled Teagan into the hug. Marcus sighed.

"My two girls." Someone gasped.

"Isabella!" Aro knew I hated it when he called me that. "Wonderful! You're ok." Caius sauntered to his side looking uninterested.

"Isabella, how wonderful to see you." Caius's voice matched his mood. I ignored Caius.

"Aro, Marcus, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a walk." Teagan touched my arm lightly.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No. I just want to be alone for a minute. I'll meet you guys in a few. I haven't fed in a while though. Do you want to come?"

"Sure. I'll meet you in the garden in a half hour." She smiled and walked away with Afton. I walked outside to the garden and out to the meadow that overlooked the lake. I sat down and hugged my knees into my chest. I stared out at the lake as the cool breeze whisked through my hair. I caught the numerous scents that filled the air. Flowers. Trees. Nearby animals. Grass. There was another scent. I couldn't put my finger on it. It smelled so sweet and inviting. I glanced around trying to pinpoint what held this alluring scent. I caught the sight of a pair of deliciously golden eyes. I inhaled sharply as the creature took a cautious step toward me. Then he was gone. I was so confused. I had never seen him before around here.

"Great, now I'm hallucinating." I said aloud. I got up frustrated. _It was all in my head._ I inhaled and caught the scent again. If the guy was in my head, the scent would have been in my head, too. I followed the scent to another meadow. I looked around and didn't see anything, but the scent was everywhere. I flew into the trees and landed on a branch. I inhaled the appealing scent. I kept following the scent. I don't know how far I had gone, but I had to know who this guy was. Just as suddenly as I caught the scent, it was gone. I furrowed my brow.

"Now, I'm seeing and _smelling_ things that don't exist." I shook my head and turned back. As I was walking back to the castle, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. I turned around again. I saw the man in the trees, but pretended I didn't. I sat down against a tree and relaxed. I watched him. He was so beautiful. He had to be a vampire. His skin was so pale. I watched him intently. I gasped as he acknowledged my presence and realized I was watching him. He paused and then flew out of the trees away from the meadow. I put my hands on my temples.

"I need to get out of here," I said to myself. I flew toward the castle, not caring that the sun broke through the clouds and rained down on me, sending tiny rainbows everywhere. I slowed down so I wouldn't break down the garden gate. Teagan and Afton were waiting for me. I didn't skip a beat.

"I need to get out of here." They both gave me incredulous looks. Teagan sat me down on a bench.

"Bells, are you alright?"

"I just need to get away for a while. I need to get away from all of this. First Damien, then I'm seeing and _smelling_ things that aren't there." I rambled on. Afton put his hand over my mouth.

"Bella, slow down. And what do you mean you are seeing and smelling things?" He gave Teagan an odd look. I sighed.

"I went to that meadow that we go to when we play around and I saw this guy. He was definitely a vampire, but I had never seen him before. He smelled SO good. I thought I was seeing things, but the scent was still there. I followed it and I saw him again. He ran away from me. I'm telling you, I'm seeing things. And smelling them."

"Let's go hunt and then we'll talk. You haven't fed for at least a week. Maybe that's what you need." Teagan said. She took my hand and we were running. We came to a field where three men were working. Afton called this spot, so we had to wait to find another group to feed. We always went to different spots when there was a group of us. Afton was done in about 5 minutes.

"Well, that's a record." I nudged him. He got me in a headlock in 2 seconds flat. I gave up.

"Ok! Ok! I give!" He let go and put his arm around Teagan's waist.

"Alright, who has next dibs?" Afton asked. I looked at Teagan.

"Bells, you've been locked in your room for the past week and a half. You need to feed. Go." She gently pushed me, and we were running. We found another group of farmers about a mile away. I flew up to a branch and hid in the tree. I singled out a man who was walking toward the trees. As he came into the trees, I flew onto another branch. I smirked. He heard the leaves blow in the breeze I had made. I flew into another tree, purposely breaking a twig to frighten him. He kept turning toward the sounds. I quietly dropped to the ground behind him.

"Hello." I said in the most innocent voice I had. The man jumped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, miss. I thought you were an animal." He chuckled. I giggled along with him.

"Oh, you weren't mistaken, sir. That was an animal." I smiled at him. He looked nervous.

"Excuse me?" He hadn't shouted for help yet. He was brave. I sauntered toward him.

"That was an animal. A very strong animal in fact. A good hunter, too. Actually, that is exactly what the animal was doing." I bared my teeth. "Hunting." I pounced onto him and snapped his neck. I sunk my teeth into his shoulder. His blood ran into my mouth. It tasted so sweet. When I was done, we made it look like a bear attacked him. As we were heading to another spot for Teagan, she looked at me.

"Bells, what have I told you about playing with your food?" She chuckled.

"It's just so much fun." I laughed. We went another mile for Teagan. She found a lone man working the field. Another man had left him alone. She finished quickly, and we ran back to the castle. We got to the garden gate and heard Caius talking to Aro.

"My brother, I have been thinking and I would like to invite Paulo to stay again. His last visit was cut short and I would very much like to see him again." I tensed up immediately. Teagan and Afton each grabbed an arm.

"Bella, stay calm." Teagan tried to calm me down, but it wasn't working.

"Teagan. I can't stay here if he's here. I won't. I'm going to end up beating him senseless and then get in trouble and I don't feel like causing another mini riot in the castle." By then Caius and Aro had gone inside. Afton sat me down on a bench.

"Bella, calm down. Just relax and think this through. We can try to convince Aro to not invite Paulo back." Teagan sat next to me and rubbed my back. I put my head in my hands and took a deep breath. When I calmed down a bit, I sat back up.

"Do they have anyone in the hall right now?" I asked. Afton answered.

"Yes. I don't know how long they're going to be." I nodded. I went to my room and started to pack anything that was dear to me and anything I needed. About 2 hours later I stormed into the hall, not caring if anyone was in there. I strode in front of the three ghosts. My voice was loud, clear, and confident.

"I want to get away from here. I want to go somewhere. Anywhere away from here." Aro looked at me confused. Marcus looked concerned. Caius wasn't paying attention.

"My dear child, what has gotten into you?" Aro chuckled as he said this.

"I'm not laughing. I am being perfectly serious about this." Aro stopped chuckling. Caius turned his attention to me for once. Marcus stepped forward.

"Bella, are you ok?"

I shook my head. "No. I need to get away from here. I have to." He pulled me into a hug. I returned it.

"Bella, calm down. Think over this. Why do you want to get away?"

"You know why. I can't get over what happened by staying here. This is where it happened. I need to go somewhere and be away from here." Marcus understood. He rubbed my back in an attempt to calm me down. I was way passed the point of being able to be calmed down. Caius rolled his eyes.

"I thought you got over that." His voice sounded uninterested. I shot him a frenzied look.

"You think that I would get over something like that quickly?!" He simply looked at me and didn't say anything. "I have been raped twice in my existence. And the second time, Damien knew that I had been raped once before and that's why I didn't want to take it far. He betrayed my trust and took advantage of me."

Aro gently pulled Caius back. "Caius, the child has been violated. Let her go." He turned to me. "Where would you like to go?"

"Anywhere but here." He nodded.

"We have friends all over the world. We will discuss which is the best coven for you to stay with."

I looked at him. "I can decide for myself." I walked out and to my room. I carried all of my bags to the hall. When they were done talking, I walked up to them.

"So, what are my choices?"

Marcus stepped forward. "Bella, are you sure you want to leave?" I nodded.

"Positive." I looked at Aro. "My choices?"

"There is the Amazon coven in South America; the coven in Ireland-"

"There's a coven in Ireland?" I was in disbelief. I was so close to a coven of vampires.

"Yes. Siobhan, her mate, Liam, and Maggie. There is the Egyptian coven. There are the European and American Nomads."

"What about the coven in North America?" Marcus reminded Aro.

"Ah yes. I almost forgot about them." Aro said. He looked at me. "They are different from us. They live off of animal blood, not human." I scrunched up my face. "They are a very friendly coven. They live near humans, but that shouldn't affect you. Just hunt far from them. Also, there is little to no sunlight. It rains a lot."

"I don't care. I just need to get away. I'll go there. It's the farthest place away from here." Marcus led me to the entrance hall. Teagan and Afton followed. Felix had tagged along.

"What's going on?"

"Bella's leaving." Teagan filled him in on the details. We got to the car and put my things in the trunk. We got in and drove to the train station. Marcus turned to me.

"We are going to take a train to France, and you will take a ship to New York. A man from the coven will meet you at the port." I nodded. I turned to Teagan, Afton and Felix.

"I'll miss you all. I promise to write." Teagan crushed me with a hug. Afton hugged me and kissed the top of my head.

"Take care." I smiled. I stopped in front of Felix.

"You going to remember to write to your best friend?" He asked. I smiled.

"Of course I'll write to Teagan." I said. He looked hurt. I giggled. "I'm kidding. I promise I'll write to you." He smiled and hugged me. I got on the train with Marcus and Demetri. The trip to France was short. We got off at an old looking train station. It didn't look very functional, but it worked. We took a car to the docks. There, a ship bound for New York sat in the water. Marcus handed me my passport and ticket. We got my baggage unloaded and a steward took it to the loading area. I hugged Demetri and Marcus.

"Are you going to be okay?" Demetri asked.

"I'll be ok. I hope." I started for the ramp to get on the ship. I almost forgot. I turned and jogged back to Marcus and Demetri.

"Marcus, I almost forgot. What are the man's name and the coven?"

" Oh silly me. Do you rememebr Eleazar? He is the leader of the Denali coven." I nodded.

"I remember him. Ok, well I'd better get going." I jogged up the ramp with my bag on my shoulder and my passport and ticket. I looked back and waved to Demetri and Marcus. I went up to the deck and waved goodbye to all of the people down below. I spotted Marcus and Demetri still standing there.

"Goodbye, Marcus! Goodbye, Demetri!" The ship started to move. Most of the passengers dispersed and went to their rooms. I looked out to the open sea.

"Well, America, here comes Bella McGowan."

HA! Fooled you. No. She isn't going to see the Cullens for another chapter or so. Don't worry. They are coming. Soon. I promise. By the way, the year is like 1940. Let's say spring.


	7. Familiar Faces

A/N: I own nothing. and i just have to add that my vampires can in fact cry. i was writing the next chapter and i had to have someone cry. so, yea. they can cry. on with the story.

**Chapter 7:Familiar Faces**

I looked around my stateroom. It was first-class. It was too big for me though. I wouldn't need all this space. My bags were already in my room. I started to unpack and noticed there were two beds. I knew I wasn't going to be sleeping, but why were there two beds. Then there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see a ship steward.

"Yes, can I help you?" I asked in a polite voice.

"So sorry for the disturbance."

I shook my head. "There wasn't any disturbance." I smiled sweetly.

"I assume you noticed two beds instead of one. You will have another person staying with you. I'm sorry if this is any trouble at all."

"It's no trouble. I was going to get lonely anyway. This room is so big." He smiled and motioned for a person to step inside. They were standing to the side. A woman stepped forward. She was strikingly beautiful. She also had very pale skin and scarlet eyes. This woman was a vampire. What a coincidence. I took a bag from her and looked toward the steward.

"Thank you. We'll be just fine." He nodded, and I closed the door. I looked at the woman. She looked so familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Oh, well.

"Do you need any help getting unpacked?" I asked politely.

"No, dear. That's fine. It shouldn't take long. After all, we are vampires." She smirked. I laughed. It took her 20 minutes to get unpacked. I sat on my bed reading a book while she unpacked. I looked up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name." I said. She smiled.

"My name is Rose, dear. Rose McGowan." My whole world stopped. Rose McGowan?! There were two explanations I had running through my head right now. A) This is another woman who happens to have the same name as my dead mother. B) This is my mother. A vampire like me. But I saw her. I saw her get shot by a man.

"If- If you don't mind my asking, but where did you come from? What country?"

She smiled sweetly. "I was born in Ireland, but I lived in England." My eyes went wide. I gasped and covered my mouth. She came over to me.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Did you have a daughter?" She gasped and backed away.

"How did you know that?"

I didn't answer her. "Was her name Bella?" She nodded with an incredulous look on her face.

"She was taken away from me. When I was reborn, they told me she died."

I shook my head. "She too was reborn." I said. "I never died, Mum." At once her arms were around me. Tears started to stream down my face.

"Bella!"

"Mum!" We hugged for what seemed like forever. I finally let go.

"How?" I looked at her.

"They left me on the ground bleeding to death. A man and a woman came along. They took me to a house down the street from ours. When I woke up, they told me what I was, who they were, and how they live."

"What were their names?"

"The man's name was Liam and the woman Siobhan." My face lit up.

"They're from the Irish coven of vampires. I learned about them while I was with the Volturi." Her eyes widened and she backed away.

"You- You were with the Volturi?"

"Yes. You don't need to be afraid, Mum. They were kind to me. Teagan is a vampire, too. She is back in Italy. They took very good care of me. Marcus even adopted Teagan and me as his daughters. He is a very good father figure to me." I looked down. "Speaking of fathers..." I trailed off. Mum shook her head.

"He was killed in the raid. They found him in the alley when he came out to look for us. They left him in the alley. Survivors were gathering and looking for loved ones for a week." I sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to me. Mum sat down and put her arm around my shoulder.

"So, how is Teagan? Causing trouble?" We giggled.

"Of course we are. She's doing well. She's actually in a relationship with another vampire who is part of the Volturi guard. He's actually the one that changed her."

"I see. What is his name?"

"Afton. He's like my brother. Felix, too." She raised her eyebrows at me.

"Again, he's like a brother. I was in a relationship, but it didn't go so well."

"Did he hurt you?" I closed my eyes.

"In more ways than one."

Mum hugged me. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I looked up at her face and smiled.

"I'll tell you when I'm ready to calmly talk about it." She smiled warmly.

"Well, let's get off this dreary subject and explore this ship. You need to tell me about where you've been and what you've done." I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at her.

"You don't want to know."

"Bad?"

"Let's just say the only happy times I've had were escaping from hell, becoming a vampire, and Marcus adopting me."

She nodded. "I understand. Well, maybe one day you'll open up more. But until then, we'll just have fun and talk about the good times we've both had!" I smiled and we continued walking. We explored the ship until almost everyone was back in their staterooms. We walked to the back of the ship and sat down on a bench. I laid down and looked up at the stars. Mum sighed.

"It's a beautiful night."

"Yes, it is." I sat up. "Mum, I know this is totally out of the blue, but what year is it? We were kept in the dark from the time I was taken and I never thought to ask anyone. I don't even know how old I am."

"Oh, honey, it's 1940. You must be around 17. In human years, of course." I smirked.

"Oh, sweetheart. I missed you so much. I still can't believe that you are sitting right in front of me." She kissed my cheek.

"Well, believe it, Mum, because you're stuck with me for the rest of time." She looked around.

"Well, it's like a ghost ship, so let's go back to our room." We got up and started walking back.

"Mum, I left my bag on the bench. I'll meet you back at the room." She nodded and continued walking. I jogged back to the bench and grabbed my bag. I slung it over my shoulder and turned. I bumped into someone.

"Oh, excuse me, sir. I didn't see you."

"That's alright." His voice was so harmonic. I looked up into these golden eyes and gasped. He was gone in two seconds. _That was the man from the meadow. _

"And I'm still seeing things." I said to myself. I shook my head and walked back to my room, knowing he was somewhere watching me. I just walked to the staircase and went down a deck. I walked along the corridor and turned the corner until I saw the one person I didn't want to see. Damien. I shot back around the corner. He didn't see me. I peeked around the corner. He was talking to a man who looked to be in his late teens or very early twenties. At the sound of Damien's voice, my mouth filled with venom.

"Hi, Peter."

The man answered back in a thick accent. "Hello, Damen."

"It's Damien."

"I'm sorry. I am still learning much English."

"It's alright. So, you're from Italy, huh?"

"Yes. I lived there with my father near a small village." This couldn't be the same Peter. I had to get to my room, but they would see me. Damien would recognize me, but Peter wouldn't. His head was too thick. I had to get passed them somehow.

"Come on, Bella. Think." If only my hair were a different color. Or my face was different. I sat on the floor and put my head in my hands, trying to think of something. Red hair fell into my face.

"Huh?" I pulled a lock of my around to my eyes. I gasped, and it turned back to brown. I concentrated again and my hair turned a very light brown. I stood up to look in the mirror. My eyes were blue now.

"Well, I don't know what this is, but I'll use it." I changed my hair to red and kept my eyes blue. I took a calming breath and walked casually around the corner. I knew that Damien would know it was me when he caught my scent, but I could tell he wasn't breathing because of the humans. His eyes were black. I walked confidently passed the two despicable dogs. I couldn't even call them dogs because that would be an insult to all dogs. Damien and Peter looked at me, and they both smiled. I walked passed them pretending not to notice them. Once I got to my room, I saw Damien take a breath and his eyes widen. I smirked and opened my door. I walked inside and slammed the door as hard as I could. I slid down to floor and put my head in my hands. Mum's voice startled me.

"Bella, is that you?" She walked out of our room and gasped. "Who are you? How did you get in here?" I looked up.

"Mum, it's me." I shook my head and my brown hair came back. I stood up and looked in the mirror. My eyes were brown again.

"Wha-"

I cut her off. "I just found out that I can change my appearance. That would have helped so much in Italy. Oh, and the scum of the earth and his sidekick are here." She gave me a puzzling look. I sighed.

"Remember when I said that I didn't have a lot of happy times?" She nodded. "And I was in a relationship that didn't go so well?" She nodded again. "Well, he's here. With another guy that I met on my oh-so happy travels." I slid to the floor and put my head in my hands. Mum sat down across from me.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I guess." I took a deep breath. "Ok, I'll start at the beginning. When I was taken from England, I woke up on a truck with Teagan. We met a woman named Charlot. She said we were on our way to Germany or Italy. We were taken to some sort of camp. They took us to a building where we were inspected like animals. They took 5 girls away and sent the rest of us to another building." I took another breath. "One of the guards took me behind a building and raped me." Mum gasped and hugged me.

"Oh, honey. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

"No. I need to talk about it. He did. And then I got cleaned up and taken away from the others. Teagan was still with me. We ended up going to a mansion outside of a small village in Italy. The man who owned the house was nice to me at first. His son, who was with Damien just now, is the spawn of Satan. I would stake my existence on it." I chuckled dryly. "His name is Peter. Teagan was his maid. I was his father's. Vincent was pig-headed and always talked down to us. This one day my friend and I found Peter trying to have sex with Teagan. She got away but she had a couple of bruises from where he hit her. We escaped from them and went to the village. A woman named Maria helped us. She hid us in her shop until nightfall when we snuck out. A man named Francis and his sons helped us. We were trying to get to Switzerland so we could go home. We were passing the city of Volterra when we were attacked. There was fighting nearby, and we didn't realize how close we were to the fighting. Teagan and I were the only survivors."

"Oh, dear."

"That's when Felix and Demetri found us. They toyed with us and brought us to Aro. He had Eleazar see our powers. Felix turned me. Afton turned Teagan. When I woke up, Marcus explained everything to us. Shortly after we learned how to hunt and what to avoid, Marcus adopted Teagan and me."

"Well, at least you had a father-figure throughout this all."

I smiled. "Yes. Marcus did love us. Whenever Caius would try to make us look bad when we were having fun, Marcus would persuade Aro to let us off with nothing. Aro valued me-rather he valued my power-more than anyone. Renata didn't warm up to me well because Aro paid more attention to me. I didn't care about his approval or anything, and she didn't approve. Felix told me that she's trying. She just isn't used to anyone stepping into the spotlight."

"I see." I nodded.

"Now comes the good part." I said sarcastically. "Caius invited their old friend Paulo and his family to the castle to stay for a while. It was Paulo, his wife Mirari, and their adopted son, the spawn of Satan, Damien." My voice was dripping with anger. "Damien was nice at first. I didn't think anyone could be so perfect. There had to be a catch, but we had the most amazing time- until he told me that he was going to fight in the war. I was so mad at him. He told me this the day before he was supposed to leave. He tried to comfort me, and we ended up on my useless bed. I told him that I wasn't ready for anything like that yet. I had set boundaries and limits. He knew that I didn't feel comfortable with it, but that didn't stop him. He was a lot stronger than me. When Demetri and Teagan finally busted down the door, it was too late. He had already raped me. Demetri threw him off of me and beat the shit out of him. Him and Teagan brought me to Marcus and told him what happened. When Damien showed up in Marcus's study, I told him to leave and never come back. I barricaded myself in my room for a good week and a half to two weeks. Anyone could have easily broken down the door, but they all respected my privacy and my want to be alone. When I finally came out, I went hunting and realized that I need to get away. I'm going to Alaska to stay with a family of vampires there. They drink animal blood, but I'm willing to try a new lifestyle." It took a moment for Mum to gather in all this information at once. When she finally came back to this planet, she pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Oh sweetie. I wish I could have been there for you."

"You _were_ there with me, Mum. I thought about you everyday." She smiled and put her hand on my cheek. I streak of light fell on her face sending tiny rainbows everywhere. She giggled.

"Well, I didn't realize how long we were sitting here. Come one, let's go up on deck and see what there is to do."

For the next 3 days, we met new people and did some fun things. Mum worked on her drawing skills while I took up dance again. I practiced on the deck near the front. Nobody ever goes down there. One day on deck, I was holding a pose for Mum to draw when a chilling voice filled the air.

"Well, well, well. My little mouse decided to come out." I looked up and saw Damien standing there with Peter. Peter didn't recognize me. Damien walked down the stairs and toward me. Mum stood up and walked in front of me. Damien chuckled.

"What's this another friend here to protect the little mouse?" There was no way I was backing down now.

"No, scumbag. This happens to be my mother. Now if you don't mind, we were busy before you rudely interrupted us." I took up my pose again and Mum resumed drawing. Damien just stood there, not believing I had just said that.

"You really don't want to upset me again, do you Is-" I rushed over to him in a flash while Peter wasn't looking and clamped my hand over his mouth. I spoke in a low growl that only Damien, Mum, and I could hear.

"If you value your existence, you will not say my name in front of him." My voice sent chills down his spine. I walked back to my spot and took up my pose again. And yet again he spoke.

"Do you, Isolde?" I wanted to mentally thank him for not saying my name, but he didn't deserve it. I just keep my pose and waited patiently for Mum to finish.

"I really don't care, Damien. You can't control me anymore." I immediately built up my shield around Mum and me. I had gotten down how to protect one other person. I was still working on two other people at once. I felt him push against my shield. I was stronger now. This took as much strength as it did with Jane. I got impatient blocking his power.

"Are you done yet? I still have yet to dance, and you're holding me up." Mum finished and took out her violin. She began to play a lively, but soft tune. I walked away from Damien and began to dance. I was half way through my dance when Damien spoke once again.

"Do you want Peter to find out who you are?" I looked at him, and Mum stopped playing. She sent him a deathly glare. I calmly walked up to him.

"Do you want to not have a dick for the rest of your existence? Well, that wouldn't be much seeing as you never use it." I said sweetly. He backed away, knowing I wouldn't back down. He knew I had changed. Mum sat back down and continued playing. I resumed dancing. We had gathered a little crowd. They all admired my dancing. I didn't realize how many people had gathered to see me. When I finished, the people smiled and applauded. I did a little bow and walked over to Mum. A little girl stood on the stairs still looking at me. I waved at her. She blushed, smiled, and ran to her mom. She hid in her mom's leg. I smiled and turned to Mum. She pointed to something in the distance.

"I can see the tip of the Statue of Liberty." I looked out and sure enough, there it was-too small for anyone else to see.

"So where are you headed when we get there?" I asked.

"I'm going to live in Maine. The neighbors were getting suspicious of me. I've always wanted to go to America. Maine was in the North and where I'm going it's very overcast." I nodded.

"I'm going to stay with a family in Alaska. They sound very nice."

The next morning we pulled into port. Of course the sun was shining. We stayed in our stateroom until it was time to go. We got all of our things packed and onto a cart. I dressed appropriately for the weather, but made sure to cover everything I could. Mum did the same. Luckily, we weren't discovered. When we got through to the City, I immediately sensed another vampire in the area. I looked around. Mum tapped my shoulder and pointed to a corner. A man was standing there with a younger looking girl who had strawberry blonde hair. I put my things down and turned to Mum. I hugged her tight.

"Well, if you ever want me to come visit, just write to me." I wrote down the address and gave her the paper. I picked up my things and walked over to the man. He smiled and opened his arms.

"Bella, you turned out to be very lovely." I smiled.

"Eleazar." I hugged him. "How are you?"

"Very good. This is Tanya. She is one of my three daughters." I smiled warmly at her. She hugged me.

"Welcome, Bella. You'll love it here."

"I'm sure I will." I looked back at Mum and waved. She blew a kiss to me. I turned back to Eleazar and Tanya.

"Let's go meet my new family."

A/N: Sorry this kind of took a while. I've been kind of busy with school and stuff. I promise to make the next chapter spectacular. Sneak Peek: Edward. Enough said.


	8. Granuaile's Dance

A/N: I own nothing. And I just want to say that spring is always a really hectic time for me. I have high school softball, i do stage crew for our play, i also do dance, and i signed up for little league softball (even though i probably won't go). on top of that, i have homework and projects and stuff, so don't kill me if i don't update as often. i promise to make the chapters longer. also, in the last chapter it was 1940. and btw, this chapter is named after a celtic song. it has absolutely nothing to do with a dance. i actually might take to naming chapters after songs i listen to while i'm writing. anywho, go on, read it.

**Chapter 8:Granuaile's Dance**

_69 years later_

I love my family. I have loved them since the day I met them. Back in 1940, I never would have thought I would go vegetarian. Tanya, Kate, and Irina are like sisters to me. They all welcomed me with open arms. Kate was especially excited for my first ever vegetarian hunt. Irina had said that she was acting like Alice. They all talked about another vegetarian family that lived in America. They said that they didn't live too far away. This family lived in Forks, Washington. It was just as overcast and dreary as Alaska. Perfect for vampires. I never met them, but Tanya promised that I would. Carmen and Eleazar told me that two of them, named Emmett and Rosalie, were married 10 years ago, and they were throwing a big party for their 10th anniversary.

"That's nice."

"Yes. They invited us to go down and stay for a while. And since you have officially gone vegetarian, it won't be a problem." I nodded and went back to reading my book and listening to my ipod. I was in the middle of a really good part when Kate and Tanya barged into my room and trampled me.

"You know, you guys are just asking for me to kick your asses." I pushed them off and put my ipod on my desk. "Now, what was so important that you had to barge into my room and run me down?" Kate answered first very excitedly.

"We're packing to go to Forks. We leave tomorrow, silly."

"We need to make sure you have the right clothes." Tanya said with a smile on her face. Irina dragged in two suitcases.

"Woah, guys. I'm not taking two suitcases full of clothes." They looked at each other and went into fits of giggles. Irina looked up at me.

"These aren't for clothes, silly." I sighed in relief. "They're for shoes." My head sprang up. I sighed in defeat. There was no way I was getting around this. I just sat back and watched as they folded and put into neatly piles clothes that I would never in a million years wear. I just put on my ipod and closed my eyes. I was lost in my musical world when someone nudged me. I opened my eyes and jumped up. Irina gave me a weird look.

"What have I told you about doing that?"

"Sorry. I thought you were dead or something." I looked out the window at a pink sky.

"What time or day is it?"

"It's 6 in the morning. We're leaving at 8."

"Ok. I'll be ready by then." I turned around and headed for my closet.

"Umm, Bella?" Tanya's voice said. I turned and saw her standing with clothes slung over her arm. I looked to Irina who had hair tools. I turned to Kate hoping for her to not have anything. Alas, she had her makeup bag. I trudged down out of my room and down the hall into the master bathroom. I closed my eyes.

"Tell me when it's over." They all sighed.

"Jeeze, Bella, it's not like we're torturing you or anything." Irina said.

"That's what you think." I mumbled. She gave me a look. I sat back as they played Barbie Bella. It was 7:45 when they announced they were finished.

"Bella, you look gorgeous!" Tanya squealed.

"I think this is my best work yet." Irina and Kate said at the same time. I gave them a smug look.

"Well, Bella. Aren't you going to look in the mirror?" Tanya asked. I reluctantly got up and walked over to the mirror. I gasped at the reflection. Irina had straightened my hair and pinned my bangs back. Kate put light makeup on my face. It looked nice. Tanya had picked out some dark skinny jeans, a green tank top with a white long sleeve shirt over it. It has silver stars on it. She also picked out some green converses.

"Well. I'd have to say, this is my best look yet." I said. They all squealed. Tanya proceeded to push me down the stairs and into the living room. We packed up the car. Carmen and Eleazar got in. I hesitated.

"Can I take my truck?" I asked. Irina looked at me.

"You seriously want to take that hunk of junk? It won't even last to Canada let alone the States." She said. Kate bounced next to me.

"I'll go with Bella." Carmen nodded.

"Fine. But stay behind us. You don't know where to go."

"Ok." Kate squealed and hopped into my truck. I got into the driver's seat and started the truck. The engine roared to life. I plugged my ipod into the car. Tanya insisted that I get something installed. I put it on shuffle. The whole car ride down was fun. Kate was having so much fun. We finally got to the border. We stopped at a rest area to refuel. I walked over to Carmen and Eleazar.

"So, when should we get there?"

"Maybe about 4 hours. Not everyone will be there though. Edward and Jasper will be out." I nodded. I have heard a lot about the whole family, except for Edward. He and Tanya don't exactly have the greatest past. It was a touchy subject for her. I've seen pictures of all of them except Edward. Again, it was touchy for Tanya. From what Tanya told me, he was sort of a jerk.

"Ok." I got back into the car, paid the man, and followed Eleazar back out to the highway. We idled along the road for another 3 and half hours until we finally saw the 'Welcome to Forks' sign. Kate squealed as we drove some more until we were on the edge of town. Eleazar made a sharp turn onto a dirt driveway. I followed. We snaked up the road until we got to an enormous house.

"Wow," I said.

"I know right? It's gorgeous." We got out and started to unpack the cars. As we were doing so, the front door opened and three vampires stepped out. I recognized Alice, Esme, and Rosalie from the pictures. Esme came forward and hugged everyone. She got to me.

"And this must be Isabella," she smiled sweetly.

"Just Bella" I said. She smiled and hugged me. Alice stepped forward and hugged me.

"I can tell we're going to be good friends." I smiled. Rosalie's model-like body stepped in front of me and stuck her hand out.

"Rosalie," she said.

"Bella." She went on to hug the others.

"Where are the boys?" Carmen asked.

"They decided to join Edward and Jasper after all," Esme responded. We finished unpacking the car and moved into our rooms. Kate and I were sharing with Alice. Tanya and Irina were sharing with Rosalie. My plan was to leave everything in my suitcase. Alas, I picked the wrong roommates.

"I am not allowing your clothes to sit folded in a suitcase." Alice declared.

"Your clothes are coming out." Kate ordered. I saluted Kate and began to unpack.

"And where am I putting all this?" I asked sarcastically.

"In my closet." Alice said. She proceeded to open her closet. I stared into it.

"You expect all the shit that Kate, Irina and Tanya packed for me would fit in _that_? Even if it was empty?" Alice simply looked at me. She grabbed a couple of things and stuffed them in the closet. It took her 5 minutes to put everything in the closet.

"Impressive." I had to give it to her. The girl was good.

"So, Bella. You have to tell me absolutely everything about yourself. When did you find the Denalis? Where were you before then?" She continued to fire off questions. I happily answered all those that I felt comfortable with. The ones that I didn't feel comfortable with she dropped and didn't ask again. We talked for awhile while everyone was getting settled. Alice left Kate and me to finish unpacking our things. Everyone else was downstairs.

"So, Kate. What's there to do around here?"

"Well, there's shopping which Alice would love to do. We can play baseball when there's a storm. I would say cliff diving, but we're not allowed on Quileute land." I gave her a puzzled look. "The Indian reservation here. There's a pact. They don't come on our land, we don't go on theirs." I nodded.

"The boys are home," Esme called up to us. We finished unpacking and floated down the stairs.

"Oh. Kate I forgot my ipod in the car. I'll be right back." I zipped upstairs grabbed my keys and dashed to my car. I stuck the key in the door. I had to play with it a little. I finally got it open when I sensed someone in the trees behind me. I turned around and scanned the trees. I turned back and unplugged my ipod. I slammed the door and locked it. When I turned to go back inside, a boulder hit me. I looked up into the same golden eyes from the meadow in Italy. I bared my teeth and snarled at the creature. He threw me against a tree and crouched. The tree cracked and split. I shot into the trees and shot around to another branch, then another to confuse him. When he had his back turned, I flew quietly and lightly out of the trees and landed on his back. He was pinned against the forest floor. I was too distracted to notice that we had an audience. He shot up and threw me over my truck. I flipped in the air and landed lightly on the top of the cab. I crouched and stayed there. We stared each other down. I narrowed my eyes at him. He flew over to me. I dodged him and kicked him to the ground.

"Damn, she's kicking his ass," I heard a voice say. I didn't pay attention. The man stood up and dashed behind me. He grabbed my arm and threw me in the air. I landed on the roof. I stood up straight and jumped down landing lightly on the balls of my feet. I danced around him, while he attempted to catch me. He eventually caught my foot and slammed me into the ground. I kicked his foot out from underneath him. He landed on top of me and snarled. We bared our teeth at each other and attempted to get a few bites each.

"Edward!" "Bella!" I heard in unison. It was Esme and Carmen who stopped the fight. Wait. Edward? Tanya's Edward? I stopped snarling and looked at him. This was Edward. But this was the man from the meadow in Italy. And from the boat. I pushed him off and danced back toward Kate. He seemed to remember me too.

"Wait. YOU'RE Bella?" He asked. His voice was like heaven. His eyes looked me up and down and lingered on my eyes for a second. It took me a few seconds to answer.

"Yea. Do you always tackle girls like that? Or do you ask their name before you attempt and fail to kick her ass?" I heard a man chuckle. I looked over. It was Emmett. I recognized him from pictures.

"No. I usually let them kick my ass before we get to introductions." That was his best retort? Boy, I'm going to have to teach him a few. I went to go back at him, but Eleazar interrupted me.

"Bella," he warned. I looked at him in defeat. Once he said to stop, I stopped. I never disobeyed him or Carmen. Esme looked at Edward with an expectant look on her face. He sighed and looked at me.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Carlisle cleared his throat. Edward rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry for attacking you." Carmen looked at me.

"And I'm sorry for kicking your ass." Eleazar looked at me and rolled his eyes. Esme's sweet voice broke the uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sure Edward would love to show you around town, Bella." She looked pointedly at Edward. "It's the least he can do." She smiled sweetly at me. I looked at him. He was very tense.

"Fine," he mumbled. "Let's go." I followed him to a silver Volvo and got in. We drove down the narrow road to the highway toward town. The silence was killing me.

"So, what do you guys do for fun around here?" I asked.

"Well, we all go to Forks High School here. So, that kills about 7 hours of the day. God only knows what Alice and Rosalie do. Emmett, Jasper, and I do guy things. Play video games, wrestle, take bets on hunting." I chuckled.

Great. Alone with Tanya, Kate, and Irina for 7 hours.

"But don't worry. You won't be stuck home with Kate and Irina for 7 hours a day." He said.

"Don't forget Tanya." He tensed up. "Sorry. Changing the subject, you must be a mind reader or something. I was just thinking that." He got a frustrated look on his face. "What?"

"I don't know how I guessed that. I can read minds. But I can't read yours. I noticed when I was fighting you."

"Oh. So I won't be stuck with them all day?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Carmen and Eleazar registered you all so you wouldn't miss any schooling."

"That was nice of them I guess."

"Yea. But I'm not too thrilled with Tanya being there."

"Why? I mean I got a very brief summary of the whole thing."

"Well, you how Tanya and Kate used to go to school here?"

"Yeah. Irina wanted to stay in Alaska."

"Well, they lived with us. Tanya and I got together. I really liked her. We got together over a school vacation. When we got back, she started getting really possessive. This girl Lauren and her friend Jessica were always hitting on Jasper and me. They never tried it with Emmett because Rosalie scared them." I chuckled. He smiled. "Anyway, this one day Lauren went to far, and Tanya went crazy. Emmett had to drag her out of the cafeteria. I tried to calm her down but she went nuts. She started screaming at me and tried to punch me when I yelled back. I broke up with her right there. I didn't realize the entire school got to watch. It was mortifying for her. I felt bad, but I had to do it." I looked out of the window. That was so mean. Yeah, Tanya can get a little crazy, but she's like a sister to me. She's a really nice person. How could Edward do that to her? We stayed silent for a few minutes, but I couldn't stand it.

"So, tell me about yourself." He looked at me, then back at the road.

"Well, I've been with Carlisle and Esme ever since Carlisle found me and turned me in 1901. I was 18 at the time. My father had died. My mother and I were inflicted with the Spanish influenza. Carlisle was a doctor at the hospital. He was already a vampire. He thinks that my mother knew what he was. She asked him to save me. She made him promise. She died right after. Carlisle kept his promise and saved me. I had a hard time at first. It was all so different. I couldn't keep my same lifestyle though. Even though I had to leave all my friends, my family, and my home, becoming a vampire was the best thing that ever happened to me. I hated it at times. I ran away a couple of times. I got used to it though. After Rose and Emmett came along, I had a friend. Rose was still lonely because her and Esme were the only two women. After they got married, Emmett was starting to drift away, being a married man and all. So I joined the army. I figured I'd see the world and do something about the war. I was deployed to Europe around 1940." I inhaled sharply and turned my head to him.

"Were you deployed to Italy?" I asked him a clear voice. He turned the car onto a side street and stopped.

"Yes. Why-"

"It was you. You were the man in the meadow in Italy. In Volterra." His eyes widened.

"I-I don't know what to say. I didn't even know you were in that meadow. My regiment was resting nearby. I got bored and wanted to explore. When I saw you, I couldn't take my eyes off of you." I couldn't believe it. "And then I saw you on the boat to America." I looked out the window. That fucking boat with Damien. "I didn't want you to think I was some sort of stalker so I ran."

"Well, you failed at that plan, because I did think you were a stalker." I chuckled. He chuckled and backed out of the alley. We were on the dirt path back to his house when he started talking again.

"I actually thought I was seeing things. I didn't think you were actually there. My friend Damien thought I was nuts." I turned my head toward him with an expressionless face.

"Damien?"

He nodded and pulled up to the house. "He was in my regiment. I didn't know this until we landed, but he was actually on that boat." I didn't think twice. I had my seatbelt unbuckled and was out of the car before he turned it off. I slammed the door and put my hands on my head. Edward got out and walked over to me.

"Are you ok?"

"No. I'm not."

"What's the matt-"He started. Rosalie came out of the house.

"Hey Edward. You'll never guess who's here. Come inside." Her heels clicked back into the house. He turned to me before going inside.

"You sure you're ok?"

I nodded. "I'll be ok." We walked back inside. I heard laughing and voices coming from the living room. I didn't want to see anyone at the moment. I had to calm down. I turned to Edward.

"I'm gonna go up to my room for a bit." I said. "I think I forgot something. I just want to make sure I packed it." I lied smoothly.

He nodded. "Ok. You want me to come with you?"

"No. It's ok. I'll be down in a minute." I went upstairs and into Alice's room. I sat down on the bed and took several calming deep breaths. After a few minutes, I got up and went downstairs to find Kate. I went into the living room.

"Hey Kate, do-" I stopped dead in my tracks. There standing in the living room with an uncomfortable Kate, an irritated Irina, and a surprised Edward was the dark-haired demon of my existence.

"Bella! This is my friend Damien." Edward said, smiling. "I haven't seen him since the war in-"I ignored his happiness and stared lividly at Damien.

"What in all of this fucked over creation are you doing here, you skeeving son of a bitch!?" I yelled at him across the room. My mouth was filling with venom. Irina looked like she was going to beat the living shit out of him. Not before me. Edward looked at me.

"Bella, what the hell?" I ignored him still and stared at Damien waiting for an answer. The others had heard me and came in. They all stood by and watched the scene unfold. Finally, he answered.

"Well, Isabella," he said. I bared my teeth. "I happened to be passing through and wanted to see how my friend Edward was doing. I had no idea that you would be here." His voice was cool, and he acted like nothing had happened between us.

"Kate, you might want to hold me back right about now." I was seething. Damien cackled.

"My dear Isabella, you really need to learn that I'm much stronger than you. Remember what happened last time?" He smirked evilly. There was a split second when time seemed to stop. My eyes widened. I couldn't believe what he'd just said. Edward gave him a confusing look as Kate attempted to block both Irina and me from attacking him.

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU ARROGANT, POMPOUS BASTARD!" I screeched. Kate and Tanya were struggling to hold Irina back. Irina had taken to shielding me whenever it came to Damien. If I ever got too crazy, she'd try to calm me down. She protected me when it came to the scummy subject of Damien. Edward, still confused had me pinned against the wall as I tried to get at Damien.

"Bella! What are you doing!?"

"LET GO OF ME! I'M GONNA RIP HIS HEAD OFF!" Damien, still as ostentatious as always, snorted.

"I'd like to see you try!" That was it. I snarled at him and attempted to climb over Edward. In this failed attempt, I ended up with my legs twisted around Edward's waist in a very suggestive fashion that had Emmett whistling. I paid no attention.

"YOU GRADE A ASSHOLE!" I had given up trying to climb over Edward. He had a tight grip on me. Instead I found myself clinging to his shirt, tears spilling down my face. I dropped to my knees as Edward backed away to give me some room. I breathed a shaky breath. I looked up at Damien with hate in my eyes.

"You knew." I half-whispered. "You knew and yet..." I trailed off. Only my family and Damien knew what I was leaving out. I didn't want to talk about it now. I needed to calm down. I stood up and looked at Edward who was looking at me incredulously.

I shook my head and looked at the rest of his family. "Sorry." I noticed the rest of the Cullen men had returned. I walked up to Emmett.

"We haven't been formally introduced, Emmett. I'm Bella." I stuck out my hand. He slapped it, giving me a high five.

"I like her already." He said. I chuckled and turned to the blonde who I knew was Jasper.

"Hi. Bella." I said smiling. He had a frustrated look on his face. I gave him a confused look.

"I know that face," Alice giggled. "He's frustrated with your emotion change. He doesn't know how you went from complete hysterics and rage to calm and friendly. I don't either but he takes it hard because he can feel emotions and manipulate them." Alice informed me. Jasper just nodded.

"This scum," I pointed over my shoulder to Damien," isn't worth my emotions and my sanity. That's all." I gave Jasper a reassuring smile.

A/N: hii. i hope you liked this chapter. like i said before, my life gets really hectic in the spring, so don't kill me. i'll try to write anytime i can. i'm really glad that people are actually reading this. you guys are the best.


	9. The Butterfly

A/N:I own nothing, unfortunately.

Chapter 9:The Butterfly

It had been 2 days since the incident with Damien. We were starting school today, and guess who else was. Damien. I wanted to spit nails. The night before Kate and Alice were debating on who should do my hair and what I should wear.

"I say the skinny jeans and the tank top with the white sweater," said Kate.

"It wouldn't flatter her," argued Alice. "I say the leggings and the..." I didn't catch what Alice said. I quietly slipped out of the room, going unnoticed by both Alice and Kate. I floated down the stairs. The house was quiet. Emmett and Jasper were hunting with Carlisle and Eleazar. Esme was planning out Rose and Emmett's party with Rose, Irina, and Tanya. Edward was somewhere with his spawn of Satan friend. I heard music coming from a room down the hall from me. I tiptoed up to the door and peeked inside. Edward was playing his piano. I listened. The music was so soothing. I felt someone put their head on my shoulder and whisper in my ear.

"Spying on Edward, are we?" I raised my fist calmly and punched it backward into Damien's face.

"Will you just leave me alone? I don't want to talk to you or look at your disgusting face." I said. I started walking away. He grabbed my arm.

"I'm not finished." He said, threateningly. I turned and glared lividly into his eyes.

"Well I am." I spat in his face. He raised his hand and slapped me. I whipped my head back around and kneed him in the groin. "Keep your hands off of me!"

"What the hell!" Edward had stopped playing and was now standing over Damien. "Bella, what is going on!?" I looked up at him with tears in my eyes.

"Ask your friend. He'll tell you ALL about our happy times together!" My voice was dripping with sarcasm. I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand and ran upstairs.

"Bella! Wait!" Edward called. I didn't stop. I went straight to Alice's room. Rosalie, Irina, and Tanya had been in there as well as Alice and Kate. Irina saw my tears and immediately started.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you? I swear to God if he did-" She ranted.

"Irina. Stop. He didn't hurt me. Well, he slapped me, but I kneed him in his tiny dick." Tanya and Kate sat on both sides of me and comforted me while Irina continued to rant.

"Bella, I don't get it. Why do you and Damien hate each other?" That was the first time I heard Rosalie speak more then three words to me. Ignoring my shock, I answered her in a shaky voice.

"I'm not ready to talk about it openly. My family knows what happened. They can tell you, but they won't. They say that it's my business to tell, not theirs. They respect my privacy, even though I told them it was ok to tell people." Rose nodded. Someone knocked on the door.

"Alice?" It was Edward. "Is Bella in there?" Alice opened the door and attempted to block Edward from coming in, but her petite figure was no match for him. He stormed in and stared at me in shock.

"Bella, what is wrong with you? The first day you meet Damien you attack him, then it happened again just now." I turned to face him.

"Well, it seems like your little friend either didn't tell you or lied to you. I have met Damien before. And trust me, you don't want to know what happened between us. I wouldn't want to ruin your little friendship with the little cretin." I turned and sat on the windowsill. The sun was just coming up. A streak of light fell on my cheek, sending little rainbows everywhere. Edward took a step toward me. I held up my hand.

"No," I said, "I'm not gonna talk about it. I'll say it again. Ask Damien. And demand the truth. Or just read his mind." I walked over to Alice and Kate, wanting to end this conversation.

"So, what are you two dressing me in today?" I asked Kate.

"Umm, come on. We'll do your makeup and hair in the bathroom," she said hesitantly. Alice grabbed an arm and Kate grabbed another. I didn't even realize Rosalie had tagged along until the door was shut. I looked at Alice confused.

"Kate's gonna do your makeup, while Rose and I work on your hair," she said. I sighed.

"Why is it always Barbie Bella? Kate, Irina, and Tanya do the exact same thing to me at home." Kate looked at me. I chuckled. When they were finished, I stood up, not bothering to look in the mirror. I walked out of the bathroom and into Alice's room. Tanya was leaning against the door, while Irina was nowhere to be found. I grabbed my bag.

"Where's Irina?"

"Guarding the door," she said nonchalantly. I gave her a confused look. "Edward and Damien have been trying to get in here for the past 10 minutes. I sent Irina out there, and she scared them off." Irina came in the door.

"The guys left 5 minutes ago. They'll meet us at school." Irina said, looking me up and down. "Ok, who played Barbie Bella today?" Rose, Alice, and Kate raised their hands proudly.

I sighed. "Why? Do I look like a complete idiot?" I asked. Irina shook her head.

"No. You look amazing." She said in awe. I didn't bother looking in the mirror. I grabbed my keys off the dresser.

"So who's riding with who?" I asked twirling my keys around my finger. They all shrugged. I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Irina and Kate, in my truck. Alice and Tanya with Rose. Let's go." I zipped downstairs to my truck and started it. The engine roared to life as Irina and Kate squeezed in. Kate looked at me.

"Ugh. Can I just ride in the back?" Kate whined.

"Fine with me." I said. She got out and hopped into the back. We set off for the school with me following Rose's obnoxiously red car. After about 10 minutes, we pulled up to a bunch of brick buildings with a big sign out front: "Welcome to Forks High School- Home of the Spartans". I pulled into the lot behind Rosalie and parked next to her. I turned the ignition and pulled the key out. I got out and saw a couple of people staring. Kate stood up and hopped out of the truck landing lightly and on her toes in her stilettos. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag from the truck. Irina came around.

"So, this is it, huh?" I said looking around. Alice bounced over to us with Rosalie strutting right behind her.

"Yup. You will love it here." Rose and Alice led us to the office where we got our schedules. Alice snatched the paper out of my hand before I could read it. I grabbed it back.

"I have Biology, a Free, Gym, AP French, AP English, Art, Trig, and then European History." I told her.

"I'm in Gym and History with you." Rose told me. She was beginning to warm up to me.

"Awesome. Anyone else have class with me?" I asked.

We figured out that I didn't have my first two periods with anyone I knew. Bummer. Rose had Gym and History with me. Irina took AP French and English with me. Kate was in my French and History classes. Tanya had French and Art. Alice declared me her English and Trig partner. Alice told me that Jasper was in my Gym and Art classes also. Emmett had Trig and History with me. I prayed that I wouldn't have Damien in any of my classes. I walked down the hall to Biology and strolled into the room. I went up to the teacher and handed him my paper.

"Oh, hello, Isabella," he said.

"Just Bella." I said.

"Very well. I only have one seat open so please make your self comfortable." He pointed to the only seat available. And that seat happened to be right next to Edward. Damn. At least it wasn't Damien. I walked tensely to my seat and dropped my bag on the floor. I took my first breath of Forks air. My eyes widened, and I put my hand over my mouth and nose. What was that intoxicating smell? It wasn't coming from any human in the room. They all smelled the same. I sat down and breathed again. It hit me like a brick wall. I turned my head toward Edward and breathed again. I clamped my hand over my mouth and nose. He smelled so good. I sat on the extreme edge of my seat trying to get as far away as possible. _Come on, Bella. Pull yourself together. Don't fall for his charms._ I barely made it through Biology. When the bell rang, I was up and out the door before anyone closed their books. I walked to my locker at a human pace. I nearly broke the lock on it trying to get it open. Rose and Irina's lockers were next to mine. Rose looked at me.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked.

"Guess who's in my Biology class." I said, slamming a book into my locker.

"Damien?" Irina asked, her voice seething.

"No. If he was, I would be in the principal's office right now." I said.

"Trying to get out of Biology?" Rose asked.

I shook my head. "No. For trying and succeeding in ripping his demon head off." I said casually. A frightened little freshman looked at me in shock. I chuckled and slammed my locker shut. I sat in the library for my free period. I occupied an empty table in back where no one could see me. I took my ipod out and set it to shuffle and closed my eyes. "Stay" by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons started playing. I smiled. _Throwback. _I felt someone sit down across from me. I opened my eyes to see Edward sitting there. Coincidentally, the song ended only to be replaced by "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from Hercules. Is the ipod trying to tell me something? I hope not. I took one earphone out and looked at him.

"What?" I demanded.

"What was up with you in Biology? Did I do something?" He asked.

"Nothing. You smelled like Damien," I lied smoothly. He got a frustrated look on his face.

"Trying to read my mind again?" I asked. He nodded. "Still forgetting that I'm a shield." I grabbed my stuff and started packing my stuff. The bell rang and I headed off to the gymnasium. I met up with Rose outside and walked in with her. She led me to the locker room.

"Mine is number..." I looked down at the piece of paper I was given. "13."

"Mine's 14. Come on." She led me to the second row of lockers and went down about halfway. She stopped at 13 and 14. "You have to get your own lock since the school already provides one for your other locker. I have an extra so you can use it."

"Thanks." I said opening my locker. Surprisingly, it wasn't filled with garbage or anything.

"No problem." Rose said. She opened her locker and pulled out her extra lock.

"The combination is 5-13-31." I nodded. I pulled my gym clothes out of my bag and put the bag in my locker. I changed and put my clothes in the locker. I closed it and sat down on the bench to put on my socks and sneakers. The door to the locker room opened. High-pitched giggling followed. Rose sighed in disgust.

"The one downside to this row: the giggling band of sluts who accompany the lockers down the row. Exhibit A." Her eyes were pointedly staring at the 3 girls who had just entered the locker room. There was a taller bleach blonde tramp leading them. She was flanked by two other blondes. The one on the right had slightly darker hair and was about 3 inches shorter. The one on the left was only an inch shorter and looked like a daze of stupidity had washed over her. Think Karen from Mean Girls goes redhead. Their conversation flooded the entire room. I couldn't stand their voices. The alpha tramp looked me up and down, no doubt examining the new addition to her turf. She was probably checking if I was going to add to the competition even though with Rosalie around there was already enough competition. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Rosalie.

"Who's the alpha tramp with the bad highlights?" I asked casually. Rose snickered. Alpha Tramp must have heard me because she turned and tried to stare me down. I stared right back daring her to say something. She spoke up.

"Hey Rosalie. Who's the new girl?" she asked.

"This-"Rose started.

"I'm Bella." She raised her eyebrows at my accent. "And you are?"

"Lauren Mallory." She stuck her nose in the air. I rolled me eyes and turned back to tying my shoes. Apparently, she wasn't done with me because she cleared her throat in an annoyed way. I looked up at her.

"So, where'd you move from?" I glanced at Rose and smirked.

"A town." I said. Rose smirked. Lauren looked annoyed.

"Where?" She asked.

"In a country." I answered casually. Rosalie stifled a giggle. Lauren shot her a look.

"So, where'd the accent come from?" She asked.

"Well, since it wasn't obvious to you, I'll tell you. I was born in Ireland and lived in England until I was fourteen." I glanced back at the other two bimbos." So who are your Tramps-in-Training?" I asked. They had a shocked look on their faces. Rosalie let out a chuckle and closed her locker. I stood up and smirked at them. Rosalie led the way out. At the end of the row, I stopped turned and saluted them.

"Thank you. I'll be here all year." Rose grabbed my hand and led me out into the gym.

"Well that was entertaining." Rose said laughing as we entered the gym.

"What was entertaining?" A voice asked behind us. We turned around. Jasper had been waiting for us. Rose looked at me and smirked.

"Oh, nothing. Just making enemies on my first day. Fun times." I answered nonchalantly. Jasper smirked.

"So, who have we been alienating today?" he asked.

"Lauren Mallory and her two Tramps-in-Training." I answered. Jasper chuckled.

"Oh. Jessica and Katie." he said. I shrugged.

"So, which is which?" He pointed to the girl with the darker hair.

"Jessica Stanley." He said. He pointed to the redhead Karen. "And Katie Marshall. She's a sophomore, but they put her in junior classes. Why they don't just move her up a grade, I don't know." I smiled. We walked over to the benches and sat down as Coach Clapp explained what we were doing.

"Alright, alright, settle down. Today, we're going to be playing basketball." We were split up into 3 teams and rotated playing each other. Jasper and I were on the same team, and we sold the other team their asses on gold platters. After we were done, Rose and I started for the locker room. Jasper jogged over to us and high-fived me.

"I say we make a winning team," he said. I laughed.

"Yes, we do."

"I'll meet you guys out here. What d'you have next?"

"AP French." I answered. I looked at Rose.

"I have a free period." She said.

"Chemistry." He said, making a disgusted face. We giggled and headed off to our respective classes. My French teacher absolutely adored Tanya, Kate, Irina, and me. We spoke fluent French and had full conversations with Madame Ruchard. One girl in my class, Angela, walked over to me and introduced herself. She asked me if I wanted to sit with her and her friends at lunch.

"Maybe. If there's no room at my friend's table, sure." I replied politely. She smiled warmly and packed her things as the bell rang for lunch. I walked to my locker with Irina and got our books. We walked into the cafeteria and made our way over to where Alice, Rose, and Jasper were sitting.

"Emmett and Edward should be here in a few," Alice informed us. Tanya looked a tad bit uncomfortable but sat next to Jasper. Irina plopped down next to her. Kate and I sauntered over to the salad bar and each took a small portion of salad that we would just push around the plate and eventually throw out. As we were walking back to the table, Edward and Emmett walked in the door- with Damien right behind them. I made a sharp turn and walked over to Angela's table. She beamed at me when she saw me coming.

"Hey, Angela," I said. All of the teens looked up at me. I immediately recognized two of the tramps from gym class. Jessica and Lauren both gave me dirty looks.

"Hey, Bella," she replied politely.

"Is that invitation still open?" I asked. She nodded eagerly and proceeded to introduce me to her friends. Mike, Eric, Tyler, and Ben all sat staring at me. Lauren and Jessica kept to themselves. I looked over to the Cullens and my family. They were all looking at me flabbergasted. I turned my attention back to Angela who was in the middle of telling a funny story about her photography class. When she finished, she looked over to me and made a funny face.

"Um, Bella, is there any reason why Edward Cullen would be mad at you?" she asked.

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Because he's coming over here and he staring sort of angrily at you," she informed me. Right after the words left her mouth, I felt a hand tap my shoulder lightly.

"Bella, can I talk to you?" he asked. I got up and took my things with me. He led me outside.

"Bella, what do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"I was listening to a funny story about Angela's photography class when you rudely interrupted me," I said.

"Bella, you can't do that ever again. You have to sit with us. You could risk exposing us all."

"Like you're not doing that already." I shot back. I went to go back inside when he grabbed my arm.

"What is your problem? Why won't you sit with us?" he asked.

"One word: Damien."

He sighed. "Not this again. I'm really getting annoyed with this. All of your excuses are "Damien". What is wrong with him?"

"I told you to ask him." I walked to the door and was about to open it when he took my hand and turned me around. He lightly pushed me against the brick wall.

"I'm asking you," he said. He stared into my eyes. I looked away.

"He took something from me. Something that I didn't want him to take away. He took it by force." I slid from in front of him and opened the door to the cafeteria. I walked over to the table and leaned across it so I was in Damien's face.

"So are you gonna tell him?" I asked.

"Tell who what?" he asked all innocently.

"You know who and what I mean. I told him that you took something from me. You tell him the full truth. 'Cause I'm getting sick and tired of lying for his sake." I spat in his face and strut out of the cafeteria. As I left, I caught Edward's eyes for a split second and ran to my car as soon as the door to the cafeteria closed.

Another chapter, another round of drama. i'm really sorry i haven't been updating. i've been really busy. we just got done with our school play. now it's time for the dance show. i'll try to write and update any time i can. thank you all so much for sticking with me and not just dropping me. you're the best!


	10. With a Little Help from my Friends

A/N: i own nothing. but teagan, damien, and bella's real parents. :::sigh::: life isn't fair. so sorry about the slow update. i've been busy. but now that it's summer soon, more time to write. enjoy.

**Chapter 10:With a Little Help from my Friends**

This whole charade went on for 2 weeks. I ignored Damien and plastered on a totally fake "everything's fine" face. Edward was persistent in his never-ending quest of finding out what Damien took from me. His failed attempts at guessing included a best friend, money, jewelry, etc. I only ever gave him one clue: "It was precious. And I can't ever get it back." That sure left him hanging. He was going over that one for days. We had been at school when he approached me again. Unfortunately for me, he had Gym with us that day. They combined 2nd and 5th period gym classes because Coach Clapp was out. We had Mr. Varner. Ew. We had one thing in common: We both hated the other. We were playing dodge ball, and of course, I ended up on Edward's team. Jasper, Rose, and Kate (who's usually in 5th period Gym) were on the other team. The moment we spilt, Edward grabbed me and pulled me to the side behind the bleachers, where no one could see us.

"What?" I hissed. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently.

"Will you tell me already? I'm tired of these games." He looked annoyed at my tapping foot.

"I told you to ask Damien. You obviously didn't." I continued to tap my foot.

"I did ask-Will you please stop tapping your foot at me?!" He half-yelled half-whispered. I stopped and looked him in the eye. I'd never heard him raise his voice before. "I did ask him. He said it was nothing. He didn't take anything."

"Well, that's another flat out lie because he took everything from me. My pride, my courage, my first real time after-" I immediately cursed me and my big mouth. He just stood there gaping at me confused. I went to walk away. He lightly took my arm and pulled me back. I leaned against the wall as he leaned in.

"Tell me." he said.

"Why?" Tears were forming in my eyes.

"Because I care." He said and planted the lightest kiss on my lips. I immediately pulled away and ran back out to my team. I avoided Edward at all costs. Afterward, I grabbed Rosalie and ran into the locker room. I got to my locker and almost broke the lock getting it open.

"Are you ok?" Rose asked.

"No. Why is Edward doing this? Why does he care so much?" I continued to ramble on. Rose clamped her hand over my mouth.

"Will you shut up? There's one answer to all of your questions: He cares, and he likes you. Simple as that." she said and closed her locker. I stared at her with my mouth open. "What? Everyone but you gets that. Now hurry up, or we'll be late for next class."

"You go on ahead. I'll be fine. I don't feel like going to French class today." I said. She nodded and left. I finished packing my books and closed my locker. Lauren, Jessica, and Katie approached me. I grunted in frustration.

"What do you want?"

Lauren smiled a truly evil malicious smile. "Bella, Bella. I couldn't help, but overhear your boy troubles." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. And? They're none of your business so back off and leave me alone." I went to walk away, but her snotty little self cleared her voice, making it perfectly clear that she wasn't done with me.

"I don't think you understand. So, let me make this clearer for you. Back off of Edward. He's mine, and everyone in this school gets that except for you."

I snickered. "Yeah. Everyone gets that you're a slut who just wants to get in his pants and nothing more. Believe me, Edward wants nothing to do with you after what you did for him and Tanya. So you might want to be the one who backs off. Got that?" I had gotten up in her face and scared the shit out of her. I smirked.

"Got that through your head now?" I asked sarcastically. She flared her nostrils. "Oh, little Tanorexic, don't go flaring your nostrils at me."

I left the locker room and went back into the gym. I thought about the whole situation with Edward and what Rosalie had said. I found myself wondering into the woods behind the school. I walked until I found myself in a clearing. I put my stuff down and lay back on the grass. I stared up at the clouds going by. I had so many thoughts going through my head. _Why did Edward care? Did he really like me? Should I tell him what Damien did? What if he hates me if do? Why do I care?_ I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when I felt another presence in the clearing. I shot up into a crouched position and scanned the area.

"A look what we have here," a voice came from behind me. I turned and a half-growl half-hiss erupted from within me. Two men stood about 20 feet from me. One had a dark olive tone. The other was very pale and had blonde hair. The olive-toned one spoke.

"So sorry if we startled you. My name is Laurent." I eased up a little bit and stood up straight.

"I'm James," said the blonde. Laurent was about 3 inches or so taller than me. James towered over my 5'5 body at about 6'3. "And what would your name be?"

"Bella," I said. James was staring at me. I felt a little uncomfortable with him around. I'd have to watch out for him.

"So, Bella. Do you live around here with your coven? Or are you a nomad, like us?" Laurent asked.

"I live in Forks with my family. Well, my extended family. Sort of." I answered. In the distance, I heard the faint ring of the school bell. I picked up my bag. "I have to go. It's lunch time, and my friends will be wondering where I am." I started to walk away.

"You go to school?" James asked.

"Yes."

"With humans?" Laurent asked.

"Yes. I don't feed off of humans. I'm a 'vegetarian,' "I said. The blonde one, James, looked at Laurent with wide eyes. Laurent said something about "part of the family from a couple of years ago." I rolled my eyes and took off sprinting through the forest. I made it to the cafeteria just as everyone sat down. I walked over to the table and sat down in the only open seat in between Edward and Tanya.

"Bells, where were you? You weren't in French," Irina said. Everyone looked at me. Rosalie gave me a "are you going to tell them?" look.

"I needed some time on my own to think about some things, " I glanced at Edward. He caught my look. "I strolled through the forest and found a meadow. I chilled there for a period."

"Ok, do you need to talk or anything?" asked Kate.

"No, I'm fine," I said. Everyone nodded and resumed their previous conversations. "I ran into two other vampires in the meadow." All of their heads turned.

"What?" Jasper said. It was one of the few times he ever spoke.

"Yeah. I was lying there looking up at the sky, and they came out of nowhere. They introduced themselves, and had a polite conversation with me."

"What did they look like?" Emmett asked.

"One had olive-toned skin and dark hair. The other one was blonde and very pale."

"What were their names?" Alice asked.

"Laurent and James," I said casually. Everyone's eyes went wide. Tanya, Kate, and Irina looked a little worried, but it didn't faze them too much.

"What did you just say?" Edward said. He grabbed my arms and turned me so I faced him.

"Their names were Laurent and James. Why?" I looked around at them all, confused as hell.

"James and Laurent came around here a few years ago and started some trouble," Edward informed me. I looked at Tanya. She shrugged her shoulders.

"We only got bits and pieces of the story," she said.

Alice sighed and spoke up. "I'll explain everything to you later, Bella. We can't talk here." The bell sounded then. I got up and headed to English. Kate and Edward walked me. They had an extra free that day since they had gym first period and not fifth. I was walking into the room when Edward pulled me aside.

"What did Laurent and James say to you?" he asked.

"I'll tell you guys everything later. Right now, I have an English test. So, I'll meet you guys in the parking lot later." I pushed away from him and walked into class. I sat down in between Alice and Irina. The three of us finished first and sat there until the end of class. Art, Trig, and European History passed by uneventfully. We got a project for history that I planned on finishing that night after we got the whole Laurent and James issue cleared up. When the final bell rang, I walked to my locker only to find Damien there. He was in a very heated conversation with Irina. Rose stood there tapping her stiletto heel, probably waiting to get her share in the conversation. I immediately put up my shield around Rose and myself. I had mastered two people. Three was still a struggle. Besides, Damien knew not to mess with Irina. I walked calmly to my locker and ignored Damien.

"Will you please just let me talk to her?" Damien demanded of the two of them. "Alone?"

Irina scoffed. "Yea, ok. After what you did to her the last time you two were alone, I don't think so." Rose looked to me for an answer. She still didn't know what had happened. In fact, only Tanya, Kate, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazar knew about my life with the Volturi. They knew about Damien, Marcus, and Teagan. Teagan. Out of all my friends, or I should say family, I missed her the most. I really wished she could come and visit. Damien finally noticed my presence and turned around.

"We need to talk." He paused when I said nothing. "Alone."

"No." I answered simply.

"Bella, I'm not about to do anything rash." He was actually being serious. I thought so anyway. "Please."

I was persistent as ever. "No; and don't ask me again because the answer is and will always be no. Until you tell him." Rose looked at me confused. Irina gave her the "you'll find out soon enough" gesture. I slammed my locker closed and walked out to my car. Alice had climbed into the bed and sat down. Kate was going to get in, bur Edward touched her arm and whispered something in her ear. She smiled slyly and skipped over to Rose's obnoxious red convertible.

Edward climbed into my truck and closed the door. He looked at me, waiting for me fire up my truck. I looked at him expecting something. He just shrugged. I rolled my eyes and started the truck. I pulled out of the parking lot and followed Rose home. Damien took Jasper and Emmett in Edward's car and followed behind. Irina, Tanya, and Kate had hopped into Rose's car. Edward turned to me about halfway home.

"Will you tell me now?" He asked.

"No. You and Damien are like the same person. Always asking when you already know what the answer is going to be." I kept my eyes on the road.

"Bella, please. Maybe if you opened up a little bit, you'd have less to worry about."

I sighed. "I wouldn't be opening up _a little bit_. I'd be unleashing about 68 years of hate and loathing." I paused. "And I don't think that Damien would come out in one piece. Or alive." He sighed.

"You two bicker and fight so much. What happened with you two?" We had finally reached the house. I slammed on the brakes, and my truck lurched to a stop, sending Alice flying into the cab. She jumped out and crossed her arms. She started tapping her heel impatiently. I rolled my eyes and got out of the truck. I stalked into the house slightly annoyed that both Edward and Damien wouldn't drop their never-ending campaigns. As soon as I got into the house, the both of them called me.

"Bella!" They both advanced on me. I half-screamed half-grunted in frustration. I grabbed Damien's arm and flew upstairs, not paying any attention to Edward. I threw him into my room and closed the door.

"What? What do you want?" I demanded.

"A) You to calm down. B) We need to figure this whole situation with Edward."

"I've told you a thousand times to tell him. The only reason I haven't told him is for the sake of your petty little friendship. It's for his sake."

He looked at me with new light. "You love him."

I froze and hesitated. That pause told him everything. "I-I do not. And you know that. Remember, all those trust issues that I have problems with. Problems that you caused." I smiled sarcastically.

"Bella, I've told you a thousand times that I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

"You didn't know what you were thinking!? But you knew what you were doing!"

"Bella, I'm sorry! If I could take it back I would." His voice was sincere. Was he being true? Or was he using his power on me? From all the flaring emotions, my hair had gone purple and my eyes had been going through random colors. Freckles dotted my skin then disappeared.

"Take it back! You can't take something like that back, asshole!" I attempted to take a calming breath. "You raped me. I don't care how long ago it was and what we've all been through. You raped me. It was my first real time after that soldier raped me. I imagined my first time to be magical. With the man that I loved. But no. It was behind a fucking scummy building with a disgusting soldier who raped me and spat on me. You knew all of this and everything that I went through before that and you still did it."

"Bella, I'm sorry. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that in order for you to forgive me."

"You wouldn't understand because you weren't the one who was taken advantage of. You're not the one with trust issues. You're not the one lying about what's wrong when everyone asks if you're ok." I could feel tears fighting their way out. The floor creaked by the door just then. Damien and I turned. Edward was standing there. His eyes were wide. I turned away.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Edward, how long have you been standing there?" I asked without looking at him.

"Long enough to hear what I needed to hear."


	11. Your Guardian Angel

A/N: i own nothing. =( sadness. chapter title is a song by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. such a good song. also chapter has the song in it. also, this chapter is going to be a random combo of POVs.

Chapter 11: Your Guardian Angel

"You lying, manipulative bastard!" Edward cried as he lunged at Damien. No. I didn't care if I was defending Damien. I didn't want anyone to lose a limb or anything over me. No matter how much of a scumbag they could be.

"Stop!" I lunged in front of Edward. He tried to go around me, but he ended up tackling me. He immediately jumped back.

"Bella! I'm so sorry!" He checked over me to make sure I was ok. I shook him off.

"I'm fine! Well, I'm not fine. Can everyone just stop fussing over me!? And I don't want anyone fighting over me." I looked pointedly at Edward.

"But he-" he started. I held my hand up.

"I know what he did. But violence isn't going to make it go away." I said. Edward knew he was defeated. I took a deep calming breath. "I think it's time the truth came out to everyone who didn't hear this."

We gathered everyone into the living room. Carmen, Eleazar, Tanya, Irina, and Kate stood behind the couch against the wall. They knew almost everything about my life. There were some details I had left out though. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper settled on the couch. Alice sat on Jasper's lap. Carlisle stood behind Esme who was in a chair. Edward leaned against the doorway. Damien stood away from the rest of us, knowing that he would be getting insult after insult after this.

"Ok. I'm going to tell you all everything about my life. Starting from when I was taken from my family when I was a human up until now. And yes, I can still remember bits and pieces of my human life." I started telling them all about my life in Ireland and England. I told them about Teagan and the things we went through on our 'travels' through Europe. When I got to the part at the camp and what that soldier did, Edward almost lost it. He left the room with a disgusted look on his face only to return the next second. He looked like he was going to kill someone.

"Sick bastards." he said. Esme looked at him. He sighed. I continued on, telling them about escaping the house and how I came to be a vampire. When I got to the part about being a part of the Volturi, everyone but my family and Damien hissed or growled.

"The Volturi?" Emmett asked in disbelief. I nodded.

"Yeah. I was part of the Volturi. Actually, Marcus adopted Teagan and me." There were surprised looks and gasps all around. I continued on with my life story. I finally got to the part I was dreading. I inhaled deeply.

"Ok, now I need certain people," I looked pointedly at Edward, "to not flip a shit right now. Ok?" Edward gave a small nod. "I met Damien when he came to visit at the castle with his family. We got together and had a great time. When he told me he was going to join the army for the Allies, I freaked out. He tried calm me down, and he wanted to be with me." Everyone got the hint." I told him that I wasn't ready after the whole scenario with that Nazi." Edward hissed. I shot him a look. "But he didn't take no for an answer." I left it at that. Surprisingly, Edward wasn't the one who pounced and almost took Damien's head off. Jasper and Rosalie beat him to the punch.

"You sick bastard! How could you do that!?" Rosalie screamed as Jasper slammed him into the wall.

"You are not welcome in this house ever again." I had never seen Jasper so livid. I didn't even know he had warmed up to me. Emmett now joined in and punched Damien in the face. I swore I heard his jaw break. There was now shouting and fighting. I covered my ears with my hands in an attempt to block out the noise and stress. My hair, now green, had fallen into my face and was changing colors with my emotions. Alice was the only one who noticed. She came over and kneeled in front of me.

"Bella?" I looked up. "Bella, your eyes are going crazy." I shut my eyes and put my head back down. Everyone was still shouting and fighting.

"Stop it." I whispered. "Stop it." My voice was louder this time. Alice looked worried. Tanya had now come over and tried to calm me down. "Stop it!" I commanded louder. Nothing. They wouldn't stop. "STOP IT!" My voice echoed throughout the entire house. Everyone turned to me. Damien was still up against the wall with a broken jaw. "I don't want anyone fighting over me. No matter how much of an ass Damien is or was, I don't want any of you hurting him. You're stooping down to his level." Jasper had sat back down with Emmett. Alice and Rose sat with them. "Can I continue my story now?" I asked. There were a few grunts and nods. I went on telling them about being locked up in my room for a week and a half, everyone's reaction when I finally came out, and the man in the meadow. Edward smiled at me when I was talking about how I thought he was a figment of my imagination. No one knew it was him but the two of us. I smiled back at him. The only one that caught it was Tanya. I felt bad afterward.

I continued on with the story. My journey to America and finding my mom again.

Esme smiled sweetly. "That's wonderful, Bella. Where is she now?"

"Thanks, Esme. She's living in Maine now. I actually haven't written to her or my friends in a while. Anyway, where was I?"

Edward answered, surprisingly. I didn't think he'd be paying any attention. "You just got to America and said goodbye to your mom."

I smiled at him again. "Thanks." I continued on, telling them about my journey from New York, my life in Alaska. "Now, about this whole James and Laurent thing." Carlisle and Esme gasped.

"What James and Laurent thing?" Carlisle asked looking at his children.

"I met them today in a meadow during school. I skipped 4th period." I said. Carmen gave me a disapproving look. I mouthed 'sorry' to her.

"Well, I think that Edward should tell that story. He was more involved in it than the rest of us." I looked at Edward. That's why he freaked more than the rest of them. Edward sighed and began his story.

"James and Laurent came by here a couple of years ago. There was another with them. Victoria. She and James were mates. I started to associate with them. I even left for a couple of months and traveled with them around the country. I still stayed vegetarian, though. I decided that I wanted to come back to my family, but James didn't take it that well. He said that they were just holding me back and that I could reach my real potential traveling with them. I just up and left one day and came back. They followed me, and some stuff went down. Victoria was killed." Esme looked at him as if to tell something else. He sighed. "Victoria was killed...by...me." My eyes went wide. Edward had killed another vampire. What did Carlisle think? I looked at Carlisle. He knew what I was thinking.

"I wasn't hard on Edward for that. It was self-defense. Victoria was quite the fighter. She was very persistent. Even when James told her to stop, she wouldn't." Carlisle informed me. I nodded.

"Well, I think I've shared and received more information than I needed for one day. I'm going to go process this all. I'll see you in about a week." I chuckled dryly. "I'm going to take a walk." I walked out of the house and into the woods behind it.

--

Damien's POV

After Bella finished her story, I walked up to Edward. He gave me a look of disgust.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I didn't know how to." I said. When it was all laid out before me, I felt so ashamed. I wanted to go back and make it so it never happened. Make it so I never hurt her, so I never made her the way she is. Make it so I was never a vampire. I could see how much Edward cared for her even though he didn't know her that well.

"You knew the entire time, and you still did it. How could you hurt her like that?"

I sighed. "I don't know. Now that it's all laid out in front of me, I just want to crawl in a hole and 'die'."

"Why didn't you just tell me? Why didn't she?" He asked to no specific person. I walked about 2 feet away then stopped.

"She said the reason she didn't tell you was for our friendship. For your sake. She cared about not hurting you." I said.

"She did it for me?" he asked flabbergasted. I nodded and walked away. I was going to go back to Europe. Perhaps to the Volturi. They could use someone like me. I went up to the room I was sharing with Edward and packed my bags. I put them by the front door and went into the kitchen where Carlisle, Esme, Carmen, and Eleazar sat. Carmen looked up.

"Damien?" She asked looking at me with uncertainty.

"I'm leaving. I've caused enough people too much pain and confusion. I'm going back to Europe. Will you tell Bella and Edward that I'm sorry for everything?" Carlisle nodded. "I really truly am." With that I left the house and went on my way.

--

Edward's POV

Damien told me that Bella didn't tell me for my sake. She didn't want to ruin my friendship with Damien. It was ruined anyway. He did say he was sorry. He really meant it. His thoughts were so sincere. I sort of felt bad for him. I mean he did have a really rough existence. He never met his real parents. Paulo wasn't a very good father figure and forced him to go to war. He never told Bella that.

Bella. She had an even worse existence. After everything was out on the table, she went for a walk. I sensed something was going to happen. After Damien talked to me, I walked out of the house and followed Bella's scent. I found her in a meadow. My meadow.

--

Bella's POV

I took a walk to clear my head of everything. I couldn't stop thinking about Edward. How he kept smiling at me, almost encouraging me to go on and tell my story. He was so handsome. All of the girls at school saw him as some hot sex god. I didn't. He was handsome and charming and sweet and loving. _Wait. Stop it, Bella. The last thing you need is a guy ruining your mental sanity_. My ever-persistent mind kept thinking wonderful thoughts about Edward. I ended up in a meadow. What was it with me and meadows? _Next thing you know Edward's gonna show up like in Italy. _I chuckled and turned to go back to the house. Edward was standing by the tree line. I smirked. He smiled and walked to me.

"What is it with you creeping up on me in the trees?" I asked sarcastically.

"Just like Italy," he said. I giggled. "Damien talked to me after you left." I stopped smiling.

"What did he say?"

He sighed. "He said he was sorry. For everything." I scoffed. "He meant it, Bella. I read his mind." She looked away uncertain. I caught her chin in my hand and pulled her face back. "He also told me that you didn't tell me because you cared about my friendship. Because you cared about me."

"I never said that," she said automatically.

"You didn't have to," he said leaning in towards me, "it's written all over your face." I closed the gap between us and pushed my lips onto his.

When I see your smileTears roll down my face I can't replace

He pulled away and smiled. A single tear escaped my eye. Only this time, it wasn't because I was sad.

And now that I'm strong I have figured out

How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul

And I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one

--

**Edward's POV**

Before I knew it, Bella was kissing me. I pulled away and smiled. A tear rolled down her face. I wiped it away with my thumb and pulled her into my chest.

I will never let you fall (let you fall)

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all (through it all)

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

I pulled her face back to mine. This kiss was more urgent, like she needed me and couldn't get enough. She pulled away this time.

"Edward, I-I think I'm falling for you."

"I think you already have," I smiled.

Cause you're my, you're my, my, my true love, my whole heart

Please don't throw that away

"Bella, I've been waiting for you my whole life. Ever since that day in the meadow in Italy, I knew you were the one."

Cause I'm here for you

Please don't walk away and

Please tell me you'll stay woah, stay woah

Use me as you will

Pull my strings just for a thrill

And I know I'll be okay

Though my skies are turning gray

"I don't care if we fight. You can push my buttons and insult me every minute of the day if you need you." She laughed. It felt so good to hear her beautiful voice ring out in laughter.

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

squee! they're together. ok, so i know it's kinda shorter than normal but hey, it was all i had and you got a quick update, Damien's gone, and some Edward/Bella action. be thankful. so review please! i love reviews! they make me feel special. =D i promise the next chapter will be longer, but it's gonna take a little more time. i have major plans for this story and i need them all to fit. so go and click that nice little button down there and write me something, pleasse!


	12. Only One

A/N: I own nothing. I noticed when I read over the last chapter that there was some point of view confusion on my part. That was my fault. Sorry about that. Ok, so here's chapter 12. By the way, _italics_ indicate flashback snippets.

**Chapter 12:Only One**

Bella's POV

That night and the whole next day were spent in Alice's room with the other 6 female vampires bombarding me with questions along the lines of "How?" "When?" "Why?"

I giggled as I dropped down onto my bed. I was actually very surprised when Tanya and Rosalie cared more than the rest of them.

"Bella! I'm so happy for you!" Tanya squealed. I propped myself up on my elbows.

"Are you sure it's not going to be weird?" I asked. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

She shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"So," Rose prompted.

I looked at her all innocent. "What?" We giggled.

"Do you love him?" she asked. I looked out of the window and sighed. I played with the string hanging off my useless pillow.

"I think I do. I mean I care about him. A lot." Esme smiled sweetly at my response. "You all know I have trust issues. I just need to spend more time with him and talk to him."

"I don't think they'll do much talking in their alone time," I heard Kate mutter to Irina and Alice. Everyone besides Esme and me started to giggle.

"Very funny, Kate. I think you two will be just perfect together," Esme said to me patting my knee. I smiled warmly in her direction. Esme stood up.

"Well, Carlisle and Eleazar went out for some 'male bonding'," Esme informed us. She turned to Kate, Irina, and Tanya. "Knowing how much you like shopping, would you three like to come with Carmen and me to shop for Rose and Emmett's party? Since it's Saturday, I think a good shopping trip is needed." All three were up and ready in a matter of 2 seconds. Alice, Rose, and I giggled. They left 5 minutes later, which left us three and our handsome men in the house. This was going to be interesting. A few minutes later Alice hopped up.

"Let's watch a movie!" She grabbed our hands and we looked at each other.

"Ugh," we groaned as Alice pulled us downstairs. The boys were watching Spongebob. Alice shut off the TV as Rose and I plopped onto our respective boyfriend's lap. Emmett was, of course, the first to complain.

"Alice! Come on!" he whined. Rosalie gave him a small slap on the shoulder.

"We are going to watch a movie. So hands up for..." She went through the DVDs and pulled out 3 movies. "Love, Actually." No one. "Ok, then." She tossed that one back on the shelf. "Transformers," she said. All of the boys' hands went up, Emmett putting both up. This smooth maneuver almost landed Rosalie on the floor. Alice rolled her eyes as Rose gave her husband a death glare. Alice squealed. "Oo! Titanic!" Alice, Rose, and myself put our hands up.

"Oo. A tie." Alice said.

"So what's the tiebreaker gonna be?" I asked. "Rock, paper, scissors? Arm wrestling?" I looked pointedly at Emmett. Everyone looked at each other and then back at me. "What?"

"Our tie-breakers are little more on the...adventurous side. " Edward informed me.

--

"Ugh! Fuck my life," I said. It was pitch black. It was raining and what was I doing? Searching for a godforsaken flag in the middle of a fucking forest. Yes. We were playing 'capture-the-flag' as a tie-breaker. Of course, Alice already knew who was going to win, but she refused to tell us. She said it would ruin the fun. Fun my ass. I tripped over yet another log.

"UGH!" I shouted as I fell over, not bothering to quickly and easily prevent myself from falling. I was tired of tripping over everything. I rolled over and laid on the ground. I closed my eyes.

"Rough day?" a voice said. I opened my eyes to a man standing over me. I jumped up into a crouch immediately.

"James," I said through my teeth. He smiled.

"Hello, Bella," he said all too politely. "Long time, no see." My nostrils flared. We circled each other.

"You need to leave," I said. He didn't move. "_Now._" He crouched down and was the first to pounce. Sadly for him, he didn't know how swift and strong I was. I sidestepped him and hit him the back of the head before he could react. I slammed right into a tree. The tree moaned as it cracked at the force. He got up and went for another try. This time I jumped up and pushed off of his head as I kicked him back. I landed lightly and gracefully on the ground as he slid to a stop a couple of yards away. He got up looking angry. He ran forward and I went for a roundhouse kick. He caught my foot and slammed me hard into the ground.

"Ah!" I screamed. Even for a vampire, that hurt. If I was a human, that would have killed me. I jumped up and pushed off of his head. I jumped up into the trees to plot my next move. I watched as he looked around the trees. He turned his back to me. Perfect chance. I quietly jumped down and ran so lightly my feet were off the ground. I landed a swift kick right on his back. Or so I thought. He was quick. Instead, I ended up on the ground with him on top of me. I snarled. He went to take a bite when he was suddenly thrown off of me. I took this chance to jump up and successfully roundhouse kicked his face.

"Is that it? Filthy nomad," I spat in his face before turning to my savior. It was, of course, my angel. Or my 'demon' angel as he preferred to call it. I smiled.

"Thank you," I purred and touched his cheek. He cupped my face and touched his lips lightly to mine. I heard a rustle of leaves and twigs. I turned to see James getting up from the ground. Edward pushed me behind him. I pushed his arm away. James chuckled.

"I see. Love. Ya know, I had that same feeling for Victoria. Do you know what it feels like to lose the one you love, Edward?" he said tauntingly. A growl erupted deep from within Edward's chest. I put a hand on his shoulder. He shook me off. I tried to hold him back. He ran over to James and threw him into a tree. James was quick though and bounced back. He grabbed Edward's neck and sunk his teeth into his flesh. My eyes widened as I gasped. I ran over and ripped James off of him. Edward tried to get at him. I grabbed his arm.

"Sorry," I muttered as I threw him back into a tree. I turned back to James and looked seriously and angrily into his blood red eyes. "Leave," I said through my teeth. He stood up straight and looked over my shoulder to Edward.

"You will know how it feels, Edward," he said and ran off. I turned and jogged over to Edward. I smiled nervously.

"Sorry, but no more fighting. At least, over me." I said. "Ok?" He nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine." He picked me up and put me on his back. He ran back to the house showing off his speed. _Jerk. _We got back to the house to find Alice waiting impatiently while Rose waved a black flag teasingly around Emmett's head. Emmett sat there pouting. Jasper lingered by the door. Edward stopped and put me down. They all looked at us.

"What?" we asked in unison.

"We've been waiting here for like a half an hour. Rose found their flag and got back here almost 45 minutes ago," Alice said. Jasper looked at her, and she immediately calmed down. That boy really did come in handy sometimes. I giggled and grabbed the flag from Rose. Emmett looked thankful. I proceeded to wave the flag around Edward's head.

"So, who won the fight?" Alice asked nonchalantly. Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie looked at us confused.

Edward sighed. "James attacked Bella while she was looking for the flag. I happened to be walking by and saw them. He ran off."

"Not before taking a piece of Edward though," I said. I pointed to his already healing neck. Alice looked apologetically at us.

"Sorry," she said, "I didn't know what was going on until it was too late."

"It's ok," I said and turned to Edward. "And now, onto Titanic," I said still waving the flag around his head. He ripped the flag out of my hand and threw it to the ground. He walked inside not saying a word. I laughed.

"Oh, come on, love," I said, "I was only joking." I put my hand on his shoulder and turned him around. I giggled, grabbed his head, and planted a big kiss on his lips. I made the kissing noise and everything. I smiled and pulled him into the living room. I settled onto his lap as Alice put the movie in. We got through some of the movie, Edward whispering Jack's lines in my ear as I did the same with Rose's lines, when I looked over and saw that Alice and Jasper were quietly making out in the corner and our dear Rose and Emmett decided to leave us. I giggled quietly and turned back to the movie. I snuggled closer to Edward. We got up to the part on the front of the boat.

"Do you trust me?" Edward whispered in my ear. I smiled as he held my hands. Alice and Jasper had left the room.

"I trust you." He lightly picked me up and stood up. He put me down so I was standing on his feet. He took my hands in his and pulled my arms out. I giggled at his corny gesture. I turned my head.

"No matter how corny this is, it's kind of romantic," I said as I turned my head back around. He put me down on the floor and spun me around to face him. He took my chin in his hands and pulled my face to his. My arms snaked around his neck and pulled him closer. His hands found my waist. We stayed like that for God knows how long. I suddenly felt that I couldn't get close enough to him. I guess he did, too. The kiss became more urgent. We fought for dominance as we backed into a wall. I broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. I moved his shirt aside and placed small kisses on his neck where James had bit him. He gently pulled my face back to his. I wrapped my legs around his waist. Before I knew it, we were in his room. We fell back onto the couch.

_I turned to leave and he kissed me fiercely and pushed me onto the bed._

I pulled away. Edward looked at me.

"What is it?" he asked. I shook my head and continued to kiss him. I tangled my hands in his hair. I felt a little tug at the hem of my shirt. Edward's hand went up my shirt and rested on my waist. He went for my pants slowly with his other hand.

"_Get off of me!" I screamed. His hands were all over my body. "Someone help!"_

One hand held mine above my head and the other undid my pants. They were around my ankles in two seconds.

I pushed him off of me and flew into the corner. "Stop it!" I put my hands over my ears. I looked up at him. His eyes were wide with worry. He was next to me in a flash.

"Bella? Bella, talk to me. What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" His voice was trembling. I looked into his golden eyes. I was immediately overcome with a wave of comfort when I looked into his eyes.

"I remembered. When you put your hand up my shirt, I went back to that night." He understood immediately. He pulled me into his chest and cradled me. I clung onto him for dear life. We just sat there for the rest of the night talking about our lives. He knew most of mine already. I knew barely anything about him. I now knew that his parents' names were Edward and Elizabeth Masen. He was born Edward Anthony Masen.

"Aw. That's a cute name," I said chuckling. He pinched my side. I twitched/jumped in his lap. I playfully slapped his arm. "Don't do that." We continued to talk. He was from Chicago and had green eyes. I had always loved green eyes. He told me about how he was changed and what his life was like before Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice found them.

I giggled. "You must have been bored out of your mind." Emmett, Jasper, and Edward were more than brothers. They were best friends. They were the only guy friends each other had.

"Yeah. But Carlisle took Esme and me to visit the Volturi a while back. So I found some new friends." I looked at him.

"Like who?"

He shrugged. "Demetri, Afton, and Felix were the only ones who really talked to us. Alec mostly kept to himself and hung around with Jane and Renata."

I nodded. "Jane enjoyed it when Aro pitted us against each other. We both knew she was mentally stronger than me, but when it came to plain old combat, I kicked her ass." I sighed. "I do miss them. I hope Teagan and Afton are behaving," I chuckled.

"Afton is actually dating someone?" He asked. I nodded.

"Ten bucks he has singes all over his room." He gave me a weird look.

"Teagan can create and manipulate fire. She has a tendency to throw fireballs at him when he gets annoying." I looked out the window. The sun was already in sky. I stood up.

"Well, it's Sunday. And I haven't fed in a while." I looked at him challengingly. We raced downstairs. Alice and Rose were in the kitchen with Esme, Carmen, Tanya, Kate, and Irina. Jasper and Emmett were in the living room playing a video game with Carlisle and Eleazar.

"I call Emmett!" I yelled.

"No! Not again!" Edward yelled. Emmett knew that line. He was at my side in 2 seconds apologizing to Jasper for abandoning him.

"So, what are the stakes this time my partner in crime," he asked leaning on my shoulder.

"Fastest and neatest kill," I said.

"Hey, Rosalie," Edward called into the kitchen. Emmett and I both whined. Rosalie was at his side at once.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Fastest and neatest kill," I said. Everyone knew Rose was the neatest kill because she didn't want to ruin her outfits. Emmett and I were determined to beat her.

She smirked. "Excellent." Alice and Jasper were going to be the judges this time. We set out for an appropriate spot. We came to a small group of deer about 5 miles away from Forks. Edward and Rose claimed this spot first. Emmett and I sat back and rolled our eyes at Rosalie's near perfect kill. Edward only took about a minute or two longer than her. They were done in less than 5 minutes. They came back over.

"Ok, ok, our turn," Emmett said. We went another 2 or 3 miles away and came to another group of deer. We picked our kill and were off. I was determined to beat Edward. Emmett and I climbed into the trees. I danced gracefully and quietly through the branches in order to get a good angle on my prey. Emmett stayed where he was. I flew out of the trees and landed on the doe's back. She had no time to react before I snapped her neck. She fell limp to the ground as I fed. I was done in about 2 minutes without a single bloodstain on my shirt. Emmett finished at almost the same time as me. We walked back to where the others were standing. Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and I looked to Alice and Jasper for the winners. They discussed it and turned back to us.

"Now, we've talked it over and..." Alice started.

"It's a tie," Jasper finished Alice's sentence. I stared challengingly at Edward.

"Arm wrestling?" I suggested. Edward smirked. What he didn't know was that had beaten Emmett more than a few times at this. We walked over to a huge boulder and placed our elbows on it and clasped hands. Alice bounced over and held our grasped hands.

"Ready?" She looked at us both. We nodded. "Go!" She let go. Edward didn't even have time to react before his hand was flat on the boulder, and I was grinning. Emmett pumped his fist in the air.

"Woo!" he shouted. I giggled and looked up. I hadn't realized how late we had been out.

"We should get back before they send out a search party for us," I said.

"Race you back!" Edward shouted. We all started to sprint back to the house. Edward led the pack, but I was gaining on him. I finally caught up to him and let out an excited laugh when I passed him. I looked back and saw him grin evilly. In two long strides he was at my side and tackled me to the ground.

"Aah!" I screamed as we knocked into Emmett, who had Rosalie on his back. Rose flew off and took Jasper and Alice down with her. We all tumbled down the hill and landed in a big heap. We all laughed and attempted to untangle ourselves from each other. I got up and was brushing myself off when Edward pulled me back down. We laid next to each other and looked up at the stars. I rested my head on his shoulder as he traced little patterns on my arms.

I sighed contently. "This is perfect." For the first time, I let my guard completely down. For once, I felt safe and protected. I was in heaven. I was in the arms of my angel.

"This is blissfully perfect. By the way, I think you mean your demon angel," he chuckled. I looked at him confused. "What?" he asked, "You said that I'm your angel, and I corrected you."

"I never said that. I was thinking that," I said. He looked confused for a split second and then realized he had read my mind.

"I read your mind," he almost jumped up. I held him down and giggled. We snuggled closer. This night was perfect. Edward was perfect. We were perfect.

A/N: I'm really sorry about the slow update. Things have been kind of crazy. Thank you to all who have stuck out the extremely long wait.


	13. Take Me Away

A/N: I own nothing. By the way, I read these writing tips that another author posted. My sister showed them to me, and I put them to use in my writing so the chapters might seem a little different from my previous writing. Ok, so the chapter is named after Take Me Away by the Plain White T's.

Chapter 13: Take Me Away James's POV

"Well, hello, there," I said as I slinked toward my prey. She looked up and raised her eyebrows.

"Hi," she said and looked back over bridge we standing on.

"I'm James," I said. She stood up straight and looked me over.

"Blake."

"Well, Blake, you shouldn't be out here all alone, especially this late. Something could happen," I chuckled. She shook out her hair and was in my face in a flash.

"Oh, really, like you?" she asked. I stared into her blood red eyes as she bared her teeth. I jumped back and stared at her.

"You're a vampire? But I didn't pick up your scent. You looked and smelled like a human," I said baffled. She barked out a laugh.

"Well, that would be my power," she said, "I can make you think anything I want and keep you that way for however long I please." She paused to take in my shocked expression. "I can also block out other vampire's powers."

I was in complete shock. She had two unbelievable powers. A clever smirk crept onto my face. "Blake, would you be interested in taking part in my little plan?" Interest was plastered all over her face.

"Do tell," she said as she smiled evilly.

"I plan to ruin the existence of one vampire in a town not too far from here," I explained.

"Go on," she said. I smirked. This was going to be too easy.

Bella's POV

Monday morning. Ugh. I hate school. It is such a waste of my time. The only classes I didn't hate were English, French, and Art. I was fluent in French. Art came naturally from my mother. I was fascinated by literature. I loved to explore the meanings behind words and phrases. As we piled in Rosalie's car, I pulled out my copy of my favorite book in the entire world of literature: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I had the book, the movie, and the soundtrack was on my ipod. I pulled out my green nano and listened to the soothing melodies of Jean-Yvez Thibaudet as I read about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.

"Bella, we're here," Tanya said as she nudged me. I looked up. We were at school already? I shrugged and put my book and ipod back into my bag. Someone came up behind me and covered my eyes. I smiled.

"Guess who," said the heavenly voice of an angel.

"Hmmm, let me see," I said sarcastically," Jasper?"

"Nope."

"Emmett?"

"Wrong again," chuckled the handsome voice. I laughed and pulled his hands away.

"Come on, Edward," I said and pulled him along to Biology. I suddenly got a nervous feeling we were being watched. I stopped and looked around.

"Bella? What's wrong?" Edward asked beckoning me along.

I shook my head. "Nothing." We continued on through the uneventful day. When the lunch bell rang, I packed up my French books and walked to my locker. I replaced all off my books with my next four classes' books. I walked through the cafeteria doors and over to our usual table. Everyone sat rigid and alert. I furrowed my brow and looked at Alice.

"Alice, what's going on?" I asked looking around the table. A chair was swiftly pulled up behind me as I was pulled down into the chair.

"James is back," said Alice. I froze. Shit.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"A security guard at a mill was killed," Jasper answered. "Carlisle examined the body. It was definitely a vampire."

"But, how do we know it's him? It could be the other one. Laurent?" I looked around at their faces. They looked at each other.

"It could be," Rosalie said.

"But it's not," Emmett said staring out of the window. Everyone turned. He was standing there in the trees watching us. I walked out of the cafeteria door and stood right outside making sure he could see me. I gestured for him to come out.

"Just try something," I said very low. He heard me. He looked threatened by my voice. He smirked before turning and leaving. I sighed and walked back into the cafeteria. Something was coming. I just didn't know what though. For the next few days, Alice had been trying to see what he was going to do, but she kept getting blocked out. It was weird. It sounded like a shield of some sort, but Eleazar had said that I was the only shield he knew of. I tried not to let it dwell in my mind. It was Wednesday, and Rose and Emmett's party was on Friday. Everyone was running around decorating the house and getting things done for the party. Instead of driving myself crazy, I finally wrote to Teagan after a while without a word. I told her all about high school, Edward and me, the Cullens, and the town. I asked how everything over there was. I was about to walk out of the house to go mail it when Edward trapped me against the door.

"Hi," he purred into my ear. I giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hi."

"Where are you off to?" he asked looking at the letter.

"Mailing a letter to Teagan. I haven't been writing in a while. She probably thinks I abandoned her," I said. He smiled and kissed my nose. Edward walked over to the small table and threw me my keys. I threw them back.

"I'm going to walk," I said. He raised his eyebrows and walked out of the house with me.

"Ya know, I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself."

"I know. But Esme needs some things from the store for Rose and Emmett's party on Friday," he said.

"I didn't hear her say anything," I said. He pointed to his head.

"Right, I keep forgetting you can read minds. Except for mine," I said smirking. He scooped me up and put me on his back.

"Hey, I can when you put your shield down," he said.

"Oh, those rare occasions that you crave so much," I laughed. When we got into town, we decided to meet back at the diner when we were done. I trotted off to the post office while he went to the store. There was a nagging sensation in the back of my mind that told me not to let him go alone, but I ignored it. I entered the deserted post office and inserted the letter in the mail slot. As I left, I decided to stop by the bookstore and get a book that Edward had been looking at. His birthday was the next day. He told me not to get him anything, but I never listened to him. After purchasing the book, I walked back to the diner and sat on the bench outside. I took the book out and smiled.

"'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'," I read aloud. I chuckled. Boy did he have some catching up to do. I decided to run back to the store and get him the second one for he would surely finish the first one the night he got it. When I finally got to paying and leaving, I ran out of the store and back to the diner. I found an irritable looking Edward sitting on the bench. He looked up when he heard me.

"Where were you?" he demanded standing up. I furrowed my brow.

"I went to the book store to get something," I said slowly. I held up the bag as proof. He grabbed the bag and was going to open it. I lunged for the bag.

"No! It's a surprise," I yelled as I tackled him. He pushed me off, and I hit the bench. I yelped and stared at him in shock. He was never like this. What the hell happened? "Edward, what has gotten into you!?"

"You're hiding something from me," he accused. I stared at him in shock. I stood up and ripped the bag from his hand.

"Edward, I have never seen you like this. I don't know what's causing it, but I'm going to find out," I said. I turned and walked to the edge of the woods. I turned to look at him and then flew into the trees back to the house. I stormed up the steps and into the house. I slammed the door and took three deep breaths and then proceeded to let out a frustrated scream. Carmen and Alice came running in.

"Bella? What's wrong?" Alice asked. I looked up. "Bella, you're hair is red. What's the matter?" My hair had a tendency to go red when I was upset.

"Edward. That's what's wrong," I spat through my teeth. Carmen and Alice looked at each other.

"But, honey, you and Edward love each other," Carmen said confused.

"I know that. I love him, but today in town, he freaked out. I went to the post office to mail a letter to Teagan, and he went to the store. We were going to meet back at the diner. On my way back, I went into the bookstore and bought the first Harry Potter book for him because he never read them." They both nodded. "I went to the diner and said to myself that he'd probably finish the book the night I give it to him. So, I went back and bought the second one, but there was a line at the register. When I got to the diner, he looked really angry. He grabbed the bag, and I tried to get it back. He pushed me off of him and into the bench. I took the bag and ran back here." I stayed silent while they took in the information.

"Bella, Edward would never hurt you intentionally. Something's up with him," Alice said. Carmen nodded.

"I have to go help Esme finalize a few things for the party. You girls should go get some fresh air," Carmen said. I nodded. She helped me up and kissed both of my cheeks.

"We'll find out what's going on," she said. I smiled at my mother. She walked back outside. Alice ushered me upstairs and into her room. I threw the books on the bed and flopped down.

"Bella, he'll come around. Don't worry," Alice said. I looked at her. She gave me a reassuring smile. I gave her a small smile in return. I propped myself up on my elbows.

"You think if we feed now, we'll be good for the weekend right?" I asked. Alice nodded. I got up and walked slowly down the stairs with Alice behind me. I turned the corner at the bottom and ran into something hard. I looked up.

"Edward," I said through my teeth. His smile faded into a confused grimace.

"Bella? Are you okay?" he asked. My eyes narrowed.

"I think _I_ should be the one asking _you _that, Edward," I seethed. He just gave me another confused look. I let out a frustrated grunt. "You expect me to believe that you have no recollection of what happened earlier in town?" He looked around at Alice as if he was asking for an explanation.

"Bella, I have no idea what you're talking about," he said. I couldn't believe it.

"Ok, so you didn't _mean_ to snap at me for being a tad bit late?" I snapped.

"What?" he asked. I ignored him.

"You didn't _mean_ to ignore my pleas?"

"Bella-"

"You didn't _mean_ to throw me against a fucking bench!?" I was now screaming in his face. He didn't falter and kept a confused look on his face. The doorbell rang just then. I walked angrily to the door and opened it. Standing in front of me was a tall brunette who reminded me of Taylor Vaughan from 'She's All That.' The bitchiness even radiated off of her. She was definitely a vampire.

"Hi," the girl said in a humble voice. I looked at her with narrow eyes. "I need a place to stay. Would it be okay if I stayed here?" I rolled my eyes and went to close the door. Edward caught the door and let the girl in.

"Edward, can we continue our little conversation in the kitchen please?" I asked while tapping my foot.

"Hold on. What's your name?" he asked the girl. She smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm Blake," she said. I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat.

"Bella, can you please just hold on for one second?" Edward asked in a very snippy tone. I just stared at him. He turned to Blake.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

She frowned. "I don't know. All I remember is a fire and then waking up in the middle of a forest." She looked around at us with wide eyes. There was something about her that I didn't like.

"It's ok. You're safe here," he said. He called up the stairs for Esme. She came down the stairs and looked curiously at Blake.

"Well, who do we have here?" she asked.

"This is Blake," Edward answered. He turned to Blake. "This is Esme. Tell her what you told me. She'll make you feel right at home." Edward turned and followed Alice and me into the kitchen.

"Can we continue our conversation now? Or are you gonna go drool over Blake in their?" I snapped at him.

"Bella, I have no idea what is going on with you. What's wrong? What did I do?" I just stared at him with hopeless eyes. Without thinking, my hand came across his face. He caught my eyes.

"Bella, I don't know what to think anymore. You're acting insane. You make up stories about me yelling and attacking you. You're rude to a person who needs our help. You slap me for no apparent reason," he said.

"There are a million reasons for slapping you! You DID attack me and scream at me! And was I the one drooling over someone else while their girlfriend is standing right there?!" He just looked away. "Edward." He kept his head down. "Say something." He looked up.

"I think we should take some time to re-evaluate our feelings," he said. I just stared at him.

"'Re-evaluate our feelings'? Our relationship isn't a some equation that needs solving or 're-evaluating'," I said. He didn't say anything. "Are you really breaking up with me?" He looked away.

"I just think we need some time alone, like a tim-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence. I don't believe in 'time-outs'. It's either we're together or we're not." I had to put my foot down.

"Then I guess we're not," he said and walked out. My entire world stopped. My knees buckled under me. I didn't even bother to catch myself. Alice grabbed my arms and steadied me against the cabinets underneath the counter.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Alice asked over and over. I wanted to answer, but I couldn't' find my voice. The tears came out in waves. I couldn't move. Alice, Irina, and Tanya had to force me onto my feet. Emmett had to carry me upstairs. As soon as I felt the first fiber of my bed, I jumped out of his arms and curled up into a ball. Alice and Kate stayed in the room with me as everyone else filed out. I don't even remember that night or getting dressed the next morning. I remember walking out of the house and piling into Rosalie's car, all the while watching the silver Volvo in front of us with an expressionless face. As soon as we got to school, I got out and headed to Biology. I sat down in my seat next to Edward and didn't look at him. I answered all of the questions asked of me and took notes. I could see Edward sneaking glances at me out of my peripheral vision. He even passed me a note. I looked down.

_Bella, please talk to me. _

I pushed the note back as the bell rang. I walked as fast as possible without going into vampire speed to the bathroom and into the stall. I put my bag down and sat on the seat. Tears rolled down my face as I rocked back and forth. I'd never had this feeling before. This feeling of emptiness and loneliness. Just then, the door opened and three pairs of heeled feet clicked into the restroom. I recognized the voices as the 3 tramps from gym class.

"Hey, Lauren, did you hear?" Katie said.

"Hear what?" the bimbo asked.

"Edward Cullen's single again," Jessica said.

"I knew it would be a matter of time before he dumped that foreign trash. Now he can have the real girlfriend that he deserves, and who deserves him," said Lauren. I wanted to rip down this door and suck the prissy blood dry from their bodies. They clicked out of the room. I walked out of the bathroom and to the library. When lunch came around I sat with Angela and her friends. Lauren, Katie, and Jessica all smirked at my tear-stained face. Everyone else was considerate and didn't bring up the subject of Edward. I looked over at my usual table. Edward was looking at me. I turned around and waited for the day to be over. Friday rolled around. We all took the day off to finish the preparations and such. When Alice and I were done, she dragged me upstairs and into our room. I flopped down on the bed. A dress and a strapless bra landed on me.

"Get dressed. You, Kate, and I are welcoming guests," Alice said. I looked over at her. She was standing there with her dress halfway up her body exposing her pink spotted bra. The door opened and Kate walked in sporting a strapless floor length black dress with a slit up to her mid-thigh and some frighteningly high stiletto heels. Alice nodded in approval.

"Very nice. Now if you could help me get Bella into her dress," she said. I was suddenly pulled up and stripped of my clothes. I was soon standing in front of a mirror wearing what had to be the most gorgeous dress I had ever seen. It was a silk strapless blue dress and had a fitted bodice. The skirt fell to the floor in a wave of blue beauty. It had tiny sliver beads lining the chest line and the hem with streaks of silver beads wrapping around the dress. Alice was on the floor placing my feet in the same shoes as Kate except in blue. Alice had on a floor length strapless champagne dress with two slits on either leg up to her thigh. She had on the same heels as we did in champagne. After our hair and makeup was done, we descended down the stairs where the rest of our families were waiting.

"You look beautiful," Jasper said, taking Alice's hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. She giggled. Kate's date, a nomad named Garrett, took her hand and led her into the back. I walked over to Tanya and Irina who were on coat check. Tanya was wearing a sunset orange dress that fell down to her knees in all different lengths with orange flats. Irina was wearing a blue-purple wrap around dress with thin straps. She sported a pair of stilettos in the same color that looked more like a foot trap of some kind. Carmen and Esme both wore floor length dresses with straps. Carmen wore an earthy green dress with a slit up her leg that ended at her knee. Esme wore a soft red with a wrap around bodice. Her hair fell in soft waves to her shoulders. She looked gorgeous.

"You guys look nice," I said to Irina and Tanya. I couldn't help but look around for Edward. I didn't see him. My face fell.

"Bells, he'll be here. Just give him some time," Tanya said rubbing my arm. I smiled at her. Soon the guests started to arrive. Alice and I slowly made our way into the back where the party was being held. A small dance floor had been set up. Jasper, who was in charge of music, had installed a simple sound system and played light music. Soon, a slow song came on. The dance floor slowly parted leaving a few couples dancing softly. Garrett was leading Kate onto the floor. Rosalie and Emmett were swaying gently back and forth. As I looked around, I spotted Edward through the crowd. I smiled when he turned; but he wasn't turning towards me. I continued to look as my smile faded. He was turning to pull Blake onto the dance floor. Tanya and Irina saw what I was looking at. They looked at each other then back at me.

"Bells?" But before Irina could touch my shoulder, I was inside and upstairs in a heartbeat. I slammed the door and sat on my bed. I pulled my knees into my chest. I looked out of the window at the dark blue night sky. The door opened lightly.

"Bella?" Alice came and sat down next to me.

"Honey, are you okay?" Irina asked. I looked up at her. I felt like crying, but I had no tears left.

"No. I'm not," I said and stared back out of the window. It was already nearing midnight. I could hear the party winding down as some of the guests were getting into their respective cars and leaving. I got up and plastered on a completely fake smile as I descended the stairs. As I was helping Esme with coats, I saw Edward enter the foyer holding his head like he had a headache. When he saw me, his face lit up. My eyes narrowed and I stormed passed him. He caught my arm.

"Bella, I didn't see you at the party. Where were you?" he asked. I just stared at him blankly.

"So where's your new girlfriend, huh? Where's _Blake_?" I spat her name off of my tongue. He gave me an incredulous look.

"Bella, who is Blake? And you're my girlfriend."

"I cannot believe you! You're saying you have absolutely no memory of you ogling over Blake? You have no memory of breaking up with me?" He opened his mouth to answer. I put my hand up. "I don't want to hear it." I paused to look around. Esme, Carmen, Alice, and Rosalie were standing in the doorway with worried looks. Kate was standing a few feet behind me to keep me from attacking Edward. Jasper and Emmett had just walked in looking totally confused with Carlisle and Eleazar. I took a deep breath. "I'm going back."

"You want to go back to Alaska tonight, dear?" Carmen asked. I shook my head.

"No, Carmen. I'm going back to Italy, back to the Volturi," I said. Alice's face fell. I walked grimly up the stairs and into Alice's room. Kate and Alice were right behind me. I stripped the dress off and laid it carefully on the bed. I kicked my shoes off and opened the closet. I pulled out a pair of jeans, socks, and a green tank top. I pulled the clothes on while pulling my suitcases out from underneath the bed. I pulled all of my clothes out from the closet and started to shove them messily into the suitcases. Kate came over and stood in front of me.

"Are you sure you want to go?" she asked solemnly. I looked into her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kate. Take care of my baby, okay?" She smiled. She would take that truck anywhere. Her and Alice helped me pack. Rosalie came in and helped to organize things.

"What about all of your things back in Alaska?" Rosalie asked. I shrugged.

"I'll drive back up there, get all of it, and come back," I said.

"You're gonna drive all the way up there and back alone?" Tanya said. I didn't even hear her come in. We all looked at each other. An hour later, Rose, Alice, Tanya, Kate, Irina, and I were piled into my truck and driving on to Alaska. We got there, packed all of my stuff, and ventured back. Once back in Forks, I put all of my things into the bed of my truck. Kate, Alice, and I squeezed into the cab of my truck as Tanya, Rosalie, and Irina sat in the back. Carmen, Eleazar, Esme, and Carlisle came to the small airport in Port Angeles. I gave my luggage to the flight crew and waited on line to board the plane.

As the flight attendant looked over my ticket, I looked back over my shoulder to my family standing a few hundred feet away on the runway. I proceeded into the plane as the woman gave me my ticket back. I took my seat by the window. As the engine started, I looked out of the window just in time to see Edward's silver Volvo pull up with Jasper, Emmett, and Edward spilling out of it. Edward pushed his way to the front of the small crowd that was my family. He looked directly at me. I looked away as the plane took off. I was going back home. But was it really my home?

A/N: I apologize profusely for the long wait, but I had a very busy schedule since I started work. I hope you like it!


	14. It's Not Easy To Be Me

A/N: I own nothing. Sorry for the extremely long wait. I was working, but now that's done. This is Chapter 13 in Edward's point of view. This chapter is titled after It's Not Easy To Be Me by David Gray. When you see _*****, **_play the song Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap.

Chapter 14:It's Not Easy To Be Me

Edward's POV

Monday. School. Sigh. I jogged down the stairs and grabbed my keys off of the hook by the door.

"Jasper! Emmett! Let's go!" I yelled up the stairs. Emmett and Jasper came rumbling down the stairs. More like _Emmett_ came rumbling down the stairs. Jasper just rolled his eyes.

"Can you be any louder?" he asked sarcastically. Emmett scowled at him. I chuckled.

"Come on. The girls already left," I informed them. I went outside to my Volvo and started it up. The drive to school was the same as every day. Emmett and Jasper fought over the music. Jasper preferred classic music like me to Emmett's like of rap and hip-hop. There was a constant change of music. I just concentrated on the road and my one love. Bella. She was so beautiful. She hated it when I called her that. I did it anyway. I pulled into the parking lot next to Rosalie's obnoxious red convertible. I walked up behind Bella who was putting her book and ipod in her bag. I covered her eyes.

"Guess who," I whispered in her ear.

"Hmmm, let me see," she said. Sarcasm was the only language she spoke. "Jasper?"

I mentally laughed. "Nope."

"Emmett?"

"Wrong again," I chuckled. She laughed and pulled my hands from her eyes.

"Come one, Edward," she said pulling me along. We walked toward the stairs. Bella suddenly stopped and looked around.

"Bella? What's wrong?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Nothing," she said and turned back toward the school. The day passed uneventfully until right before lunch. Class was almost over. I happened to look out of the window and see something I wasn't expecting. James. He was standing in the trees just at the edge of school property. I turned to Emmett. I subtly nodded my head towards the window. He didn't catch it. I rolled my eyes and quietly tore a piece of paper out of my notebook.

_Look out the window. In the trees. _

I passed him the note. He opened and immediately whipped his head around to the trees. He crumpled the piece of paper up and threw it in the garbage. When lunch finally came around, we got met Rosalie and Irina by their lockers.

"Hey, what's up?" Rose asked kissing Emmett lightly.

"We'll explain on the way. Let's go," I said, "Where's Bella?" I asked looking around.

"She was lingering behind a little. Why? What's going on?" Irina asked.

"Come on," I said. We, quite literally, dragged the girls to the cafeteria where Jasper and Alice were waiting for us. Alice had her head on the table. I could feel Jasper sending calming waves toward her. We sat down.

"I'm going to assume that you know," I stated, looking toward the door. Where was Bella? I looked towards the windows in the cafeteria, scanning the tree line outside. Sure enough, James was standing there, watching, plotting. The sound of the doors opening caused me to turn my attention away from the crazed vampire. Kate and Tanya strolled into the cafeteria. I turned my attention back to James.

"Alice, what's going on?" asked a voice that could only be Bella's. I pushed a chair behind her and gently sat her down.

"James is back," Alice answered. Bella froze in her seat.

"How do you know?" she asked looking around.

"A security guard at a mill was killed," Jasper said. "Carlisle examined the body. It was definitely a vampire."

"But, how do we know it's him? It could be the other one. Laurent?" She looked around to each of us as we looked at each other.

"It could be," Rosalie answered.

"But it's not," Emmett said staring out of the window. Everyone turned to look at James in the trees. Bella pushed back from the table and walked outside. She made a gesture while saying something. I saw the fear in his eyes. He quickly wiped the expression off. It was replaced with a smirk before he turned and disappeared into the trees. Everyone tried to forget about him, but I could see on everyone's face. Tuesday came and went with no excitement. Wednesday afternoon while everyone else was running around decorating the backyard and the house, Bella tried to sneak out of the craziness. I smirked and trapped her against the door.

"Hi," I whispered in her ear. Her small giggle sounded like bells as she kissed my cheek.

"Hi," she answered back.

"Where are you off to?" I asked eyeing the letter in her hand.

"Mailing a letter to Teagan. I haven't been writing in a while. She probably thinks I abandoned her," she said. I smiled and planted a small kiss on her nose. I walked over to the small table and tossed Bella her car keys. She threw them back.

"I'm going to walk," she said. I raised my eyebrows and strolled to her side.

"Ya know, I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself."

"I know. But Esme needs some things from the store for Rose and Emmett's party on Friday," I informed her.

"I didn't hear her say anything," she said. I pointed to my head and smirked.

"Right, I keep forgetting you can read minds. Except for mine," she retorted. I rolled my eyes and lifted her onto my back.

"Hey, I can when you put your shield down," I said.

"Oh, those rare occasions that you crave so much," she said laughing. We were to meet back at the diner when we were finished on our escapades. I walked to the party store and proceeded to the far aisle. _White lights. Red balloons. Gold and red streamers. _The list went on. Sigh. I dreaded parties thrown by Rosalie. Everything had to be **perfect**. It took me a good 20 minutes to find the damn balloons. They were of course on the very bottom shelf in the extreme back. As I stood up, I bumped into someone behind me. I was surprised I didn't break any of their bones.

"Oh, excuse me, miss, I didn't see you there," I apologized. A small brunette stared back at me with a smirk.

"That's fine. My fault," she said. For a moment, I forgot why I was there in the first place. When I finally snapped back to reality, she was gone.

"Huh. That was weird," I said to myself. When I got to paying and leaving, I could have sworn I saw her again staring at me. When I did a double take, she was gone. Great. Hallucinations now. I jogged back to the diner. Bella wasn't there. I sat down on the bench. 10 minutes later she still hadn't showed. I began getting impatient. When she finally showed up, I snapped.

"Where were you?" I demanded standing up. She furrowed her brow.

"I went to the book store to get something," she said slowly. She held up the bag. I grabbed it. She lunged forward.

"No! It's a surprise," she yelled tackling me. I pushed her off and heard a loud crack. Bella yelped and stared at me in shock. "Edward, what has gotten into you!?"

"You're hiding something from me," I said. She stared up at me and ripped the bag out of my hand.

"Edward, I have never seen you like this. I don't know what's causing it, but I'm going to find out," she said as she turned and walked to the edge of the woods. I suddenly felt light-headed. Woah. What the hell just happened? I tried to remember the last 30 minutes, but couldn't. As I walked back to the house, I went over everything that had happened up until I went to the store. Then nothing.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked to thin air. When I got home, I started looking for Bella. I was about to go upstairs when someone ran into me coming down the stairs. I looked down and smiled at Bella. She threw a cold and hard stare back.

"Edward," she said through her teeth.

"Bella? Are you okay?" I asked.

"I think _I_ should be the one asking _you _that, Edward," she said crossing her arms. I gave her a confused look. She sighed in frustration. "You expect me to believe that you have no recollection of what happened earlier in town?" I looked to Alice for an explanation.

"Bella, I have no idea what you're talking about," I said honestly.

"Ok, so you didn't _mean_ to snap at me for being a tad bit late?" she snapped.

"What?" I questioned. She kept going.

"You didn't _mean_ to ignore my pleas?"

"Bella-"

"You didn't _mean_ to throw me against a fucking bench!?" She was on her toes screaming in my confused face. The doorbell rang just then. Bella stalked over to the door and yanked it open. Standing there was a brunette who looked oddly familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Hi," the girl said in a humble voice. "I need a place to stay. Would it be okay if I stayed here?" Bella went to close the door. I caught it above her head and let her in.

"Edward, can we continue our little conversation in the kitchen please?" she asked while tapping her foot impatiently.

"Hold on. What's your name?" I asked the girl. She smiled sweetly.

"I'm Blake," she said. Bella cleared her throat.

"Bella, can you please just hold on for one second?" I asked. She stared at me incredulously while I turned back to Blake.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

She frowned. "I don't know. All I remember is a fire and then waking up in the middle of a forest." She looked around at us with wide eyes. Bella looked at her like she was a vampire-eating virus.

"It's ok. You're safe here," I said. I called up for Esme. She came padding down the stairs and gave Blake an odd look.

"Well, who do we have here?" she asked.

"This is Blake," I answered. I turned to Blake. "This is Esme. Tell her what you told me. She'll make you feel right at home." I turned and followed Alice and Bella into the kitchen.

"Can we continue our conversation now? Or are you gonna go drool over Blake in there?" she snapped.

"Bella, I have no idea what is going on with you. What's wrong? What did I do?" I begged. She stared back at me with wide eyes. Her hand came up and I had a stinging sensation in my face.

"Bella, I don't know what to think anymore. You're acting insane. You make up stories about me yelling and attacking you. You're rude to a person who needs our help. You slap me for no apparent reason," I said.

"There are a million reasons for slapping you! You DID attack me and scream at me! And was I the one drooling over someone else while their girlfriend is standing right there?!" I looked away not believing what I was hearing. "Edward." I didn't look up. "Say something." I looked her square in the face.

"I think we should take some time to re-evaluate our feelings," I said.

"'Re-evaluate our feelings'? Our relationship isn't some equation that needs solving or 're-evaluating'," she said. I didn't say anything more. "Are you really breaking up with me?" I looked away.

"I just think we need some time alone, like a tim-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence. I don't believe in 'time-outs'. It's either we're together or we're not."

"Then I guess we're not," I said and walked out.

I couldn't believe her! Why would I attack her? I would never do any of the things she said. I walked out of the house and into the forest. I climbed up into the tallest tree I could find and sat on the very top branch. Blake had been hunting below when she saw me. She stopped and climbed up next to me.

"I heard what happened," she said looking at her feet.

"How'd you hear that? You were out here," I said.

"Vampire's keen sense of hearing. Even if I wasn't a vampire, I would've heard that," she said chuckling in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"So, Blake," I started, "do you have any powers?"

"I can block out other powers," she answered with a smirk. I snorted.

"Don't tell Bella. She'll make up stories about you and attack you," I replied dryly. I shook my head. "I didn't mean that."

"It's okay if you did," she said.

"No, it's not. I love Bella. I don't know what's gotten into her," I said. I excused myself and jumped down the branches. I ran back to the house. I tried to get into Bella's room to talk, but Alice, however small she may be, was a force to be reckoned with. When school came around the next day, Bella didn't even glance my way. In Biology, she didn't look at me or talk to me. I ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook.

_Bella, please talk to me. _I wrote and passed it to her. She glanced once at it and pushed it back. I sighed. She was up and out of her seat the second the bell rang. I went through the rest of my classes without emotion. When lunch came around, I was going to talk to her, but she completely ignored me and bypassed our table and sat with Angela Weber and her friends. She looked over just once to see me staring at her. She swiftly turned right around. Thursday was the same routine. On Friday, we stayed home to finish up for the party.

Jasper and I helped Emmett get ready in his room. As I pulled my tux on, Jasper started with the questions. I held up my hand.

"I don't even want to talk about it. I don't remember what happened at all. I don't know why, and it's driving me crazy," I said. He looked at Emmett with a worried look. I shook my head and headed downstairs. I started looking for Bella when Blake came out of nowhere. I kept looking around through the crowd of people in my house for Bella.

"Hi, Edward," she said. I looked down. She was sporting a very revealing red floor length dress with one strap. She had a smirk on her face as she stared up at me.

"Hi," I said. "Have you seen Bella?" She frowned.

"No," she said. I went to turn away. She grabbed my face and pulled me to her. When my lips connected with hers, I felt an odd sensation. I wanted to pull away and go find Bella, but that plan was falling away for some reason. I broke the kiss and offered her my arm. I led her outside where a slow song had come on. I smiled as I pulled her onto the dance floor. She giggled as I gently swayed her in circles. We danced the night away, ignoring everyone's stares and comments about the girl in my arms not being Bella. There was no Bella anymore. Not to me anyway. I just stared into Blake's eyes. However, there was a nagging sensation in the very back of my mind that told me something wasn't right.

As the party died down, I went to look for Jasper. As I was looking, I was suddenly overcome with a headache. I couldn't remember anything. That was weird. I entered the foyer holding my head very confused. I spotted Bella helping Esme with coats. My face lit up when I saw her. She glared at me and stormed passed me. I caught her hand gently with mine.

"Bella, I didn't see you at the party. Where were you?" I asked. She stared at me.

_*******_

"So where's your new girlfriend, huh? Where's _Blake_?" she spat. I gave her a confused look.

"Bella, who is Blake? And _you're_ my girlfriend."

"I cannot believe you! You're saying you have absolutely no memory of you ogling over Blake? You have no memory of breaking up with me?" I opened my mouth to answer. She put her hand up. "I don't want to hear it." She paused and glanced around at everyone who was just as confused as I was. She took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm going back." I froze. What?

"You want to go back to Alaska tonight, dear?" Carmen asked. She shook her head.

"No, Carmen. I'm going back to Italy, back to the Volturi," she said. Alice's face fell. I stared at her in disbelief. She couldn't go back. No. She ran up the stairs with all of the girls hot on her tail. I slid down the wall to the floor.

"Ed, are you okay?" Jasper asked. I looked up at him.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" I snapped. I bolted out the door and into the forest. Emmett and Jasper came after me. Emmett tackled me to the ground.

"Edward! Calm down!" Jasper yelled. I couldn't help the tears. I never cried. Never. And now here I was on the ground, weeping.

"No! I will not calm down! My girlfriend thinks I cheated on her and broke up with her! I have no idea what's happened these past few days! Everything started when _she _came here!" I shouted. By now, Emmett had let go. I was sitting against a tree with my head in my hands.

"When who came here?" Emmett asked.

"Blake!" I shouted. Jasper and Emmett looked confused.

"_Now_ you remember her?" They asked in unison. I stared at them.

"Yeah. When didn't I?" I asked. Now all three of us were confused. There was an evil laugh coming from the trees. Blake jumped down from a branch still in her dress.

"Aw, you poor dear," she said smirking. "And here I thought this was going to be a challenge." Another chuckle came from behind us. James's voice sent a chill through my spine.

"I knew it would be all too easy. Wouldn't you say so, Laurent?" Laurent came from the trees with an expressionless face.

"Yes, I would," he said with no emotion.

"What did you do?" Jasper seethed.

"Hah! What did I do? What didn't I do?" James mocked and turned to Edward. Blake smirked. "Let's see. I turned your girlfriend against you. Made you look mentally insane. Ruined your life, basically."

"Technically, it was all me," Blake said turning to James.

"Yes, dear, but I was the mastermind behind the whole plan," James said.

"Point taken," Blake turned back to us. I stared in disbelief at what I was hearing. James let out a chuckle.

"Blake, would you care to explain what you did to these poor fools?" James said chuckling.

"Well, let's see. Seeing as I'm a shield, I blocked out all of your powers, rendering each of you powerless to see what was happening. And because I can make you think anything I want and keep you that way, I made you turn your girlfriend against you. Then I had you not remember anything at all, and I topped it all off by making you break up with her. Some of my finest work if I do say so myself," she said with a smirk.

"Oh, don't look so surprised, Edward. I told you I'd ruin your life. Make you pay," James said. He barked out a laugh. "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out earlier, what with you being _so _smart." Jasper was the first to strike. He took Laurent by surprise. He had no time to react before Jasper sunk his teeth into Laurent's neck. When Laurent managed to throw Jasper off, Emmett barreled passed me and made it a two-on-one fight. Blake fled like a coward, leaving me to finish off James. He had a smirk on his face.

"It was all too easy to turn her against you, you know," James taunted. A growl erupted from deep within my chest. He didn't waver.

"Shut up," I seethed.

"There were already trust issues between you two, weren't there?" he continued to mock me. I crouched low to the ground. He did the same. A sound from the left was my window of opportunity. James glanced for just 2 seconds to witness Laurent being torn apart by Jasper and Emmett. I took my chance and attacked with full force. I didn't even realize how much damage I had been inflicting until I had him quivering in fear on the ground one inch from death. I thought about finishing it; but I couldn't. No matter what James had done, I couldn't kill him. What would that have proven? I sighed. Emmett put a hand on my shoulder. I turned and started for the house. The sound of Jasper and Emmett ripping him apart made me wince for a fraction of a second. I shook my head and kept walking.

When we got back to the house, we found it empty with Bella's truck and Carlisle's car gone. I walked into the dining room to find a note on the table.

_Boys,_

_We are taking Bella to the airport in Port Angeles. She'll be taking a small plane to Seattle where a private jet will take her back to Italy. We'll be back soon._

_Love, Esme_

As soon as I'd read the last word, I was in my Volvo with Jasper and Emmett speeding to Port Angeles. I hoped to God that I wasn't too late. As we screeched to a stop near the tarmac, I saw my family standing in a huddle watching a small plane. I jumped out of the car and pushed my way to the front. I saw Bella in the small window. Our eyes met as I gave her a pleading look. As the plane started to move, she looked away. And then she was gone. My Bella was gone.


	15. Bruised

A/N: I own nothing. This chapter is titled after the song 'Bruised' by Jack's Mannequin.

**Chapter 15: Bruised**

Edward and I rolling around in the snow. Edward, Jasper, Alice, and I piled on each other in the field. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett on bicycles with Rosalie, Alice, and I on the handlebars. Edward and I sitting on a branch looking out at the sunset. A tear rolled down my cheek as I looked at these precious moments captured by Alice and Esme. Esme had taken at least a dozen pictures of Edward and me. They were the perfect moments. I put the photos back in the small tin box I kept them in.

I bit my lip and looked out of the window down at the rolling acres of farmland below. I had missed Italy. I had missed Teagan and Felix and Demetri and Afton. Surprisingly, I missed Renata and Chelsea. I sort of missed Jane and Alec in a way. I was happy to be home, but at the same time, I wished I hadn't left. Hopefully, Teagan had received my letter that I had mailed from the airport in Seattle. It should have arrived a day before I got back. As the small, private jet landed, I exited the plane with 2 Volturi guards carrying my bags. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder and shoved my hands into my pockets. I walked across the tarmac towards the castle that I hadn't called my home for the past 70 years. Demetri was waiting at the door. I smiled sadly. He pulled me into a warm hug.

"Welcome home," he said. I sighed. Home. He led me inside. When I entered the castle in the Hall, everything stopped. As I looked around, all of the vampires that had been in the Hall stopped and looked toward the door where I was standing. I spotted Teagan's red hair. I gave her a sad smile as we moved toward each other. As embraced, the floodgates opened and I was weeping on her shoulder.

"I got your letter," was all she said. It was all she had to say. I nodded. She pulled away and looked at my red and blotchy face. "Come on." She put her arm around my shoulder as Afton and Felix grabbed my bags. She led me to my old room. It was the same way I left it. Draws were ajar. A small table was knocked over. One curtain was pulled away while its partner hung loose. I dropped my bag on my useless bed and sat on the large trunk that stood at the foot of it. I inhaled deeply. It still smelled like Damien a little. Once I settled in, it would go away. I immediately started to straighten up the room. Teagan grabbed my arm.

"Bells, are you gonna be okay?" Her voice practically screamed concern.

"Yeah," I said nodding, "I just want to be alone for a few. We'll go hunting later okay?" She eyed me suspiciously.

"Okay. Do you want help unpacking?"

"No. I'll be fine." Once they were all gone, I started to put my things away. I emptied out all of my bags onto my bed, the couch, anything that was flat basically. I sorted through things and placed things that went in the closet here, things that were folded there. I pulled out my ipod and hit the shuffle. Fate sure was being a bitch that day. Right when "You're Not Sorry" by Taylor Swift came on, my phone buzzed.

All this time I was wasting  
Hoping you would come around  
I've been giving out chances every time  
And all you do is let me down

I just stared at the phone frozen. Edward.

And it's taking me this long  
Baby but I figured you out  
And you're thinking we'll be fine again  
But not this time around

I didn't answer. I put the phone back in my pocket and took a shaky breath.

You don't have to call anymore  
I won't pick up the phone  
This is the last straw  
Don't wanna hurt anymore

The phone buzzed in my pocket again. I shut my eyes and willed it to stop. My hand had a mind of it's own and took the phone out. Alice. I sighed.

"Alice," I said as I held the phone to my ear.

"Bella, he really wants to talk to you," she said. I bit my lip and fought back the tears.

"Alice, if I talk to him, I don't know if I'll be able to keep myself together." I heard her sigh and tell someone, who I assumed to be Edward, that I wouldn't talk. I heard a small scuffle for the phone and some indistinct mumbles.

"Bella." My eyes went wide as I froze. Edward. "I'm sorry." I couldn't help it. A loud sob escaped my throat. I covered my mouth, but that didn't do much.

And you can say that you're sorry  
But I don't believe you baby  
Like I did before  
You're not sorry, no, no, no, no

I didn't say anything when he spoke again. "Bella? Please. You need to hear this. It wasn't me."

Looking so innocent  
I might believe you if I didn't know  
Could've loved you all my life  
If you hadn't left me waiting in the cold

"It wasn't you!? How can you say that, Edward!? I can't believe you!"

And you got your share of secrets  
And I'm tired of being last to know  
And now you're asking me to listen  
Cause it's worked each time before

"Bella! Please. I'm sorry. You have to let me explain."

"I don't have to let you do jack shit, you jackass! How dare you!" I was sobbing now. And he could hear it. That's what killed me. He was hearing me when I was weak. I was never weak. I was always strong.

And you can tell me that you're sorry  
But I don't believe you baby  
Like I did before  
You're not sorry, no, no, oh  
You're not sorry, no, no, oh

"Bella, please don't cry. Just listen to what I have to say."

"No. I'm not going to listen to another fucking lie come out of your goddamn mouth! Go to hell, you lying, cheating, bastard!!" I threw the phone on the bed as I collapsed and wept. I could hear Edward yelling for me on the phone. I grabbed it, ended the call and threw back on the bed. I curled up in a ball on my bed and wept until my pillow was wet. Demetri had apparently heard me. He came busting into my room.

"Bella!? Chelsea heard you crying. What's wrong?" He sat down on my bed. I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

"It isn't fair! I find the perfect guy, and he ends up being a lying, cheating...UGH!" I continued rant in between sobs. Eventually, Teagan had come in and was trying to comfort me. My phone kept ringing and ringing, but I refused to answer, no matter who was calling. Teagan eventually answered it.

"Hello?"

"Bella!?" I flinched at Edward's voice. Curse vampire hearing. She looked at me.

"No. This is Teagan. Bella...can't talk. Is this Edward?"

"Yes," I heard. "I need to talk to her."

"She doesn't want to talk, Edward," she said. "I don't blame her," she added with a little sting to her voice. I could practically hear him flinch.

"Please! She needs to hear this. It wasn't me! It was another vampire. She was controlling me." I heard enough. I grabbed the phone.

"Oh, so now there's a story behind it?! And what a coincidence it was a girl who was supposedly making you break up with me. Let me guess, your other girlfriend found out? Told you to break up with me? Huh?! Did Blake tell you to break up with me!?" I was seething now. He didn't answer me. "I'm deleting your number off of my phone. I am going to change my number. I am going to block you from my mind completely. I will build up a fortress around every memory I have of you."

"Bella, please-" he started.

"No. Shut up. It will be as if I never existed. Good-bye, Edward. Forever." I closed the phone and breathed in. I opened it and went to my contact list. Edward's name was highlighted. Options. Delete. A little box popped up.

"You are about to delete 'Edward'," I read aloud. I looked to Teagan and Demetri and looked back. My finger pressed down on the 'OK' button. I put my phone on my dresser and walked out of the room.

Back in Forks...

Alice's POV

I looked nervously around to Jasper and Emmett. Jasper knew that look in an instant. My vision wasn't good. Understatement of the year. It was terrible. I replayed the scene in my mind over and over. Edward was standing in the alleyway underneath the tower in Volterra. I could hear Bella's voice over the crowd and the music. She was racing through the alleys and shadows of the city to stop him. Even at vampire speed she was too late. Edward had walked into the sunlight and was reflecting rainbows everywhere. The crowds looked on in awe and terror. They didn't know what to think. Then Bella stood at the edge of the shadow, fear written clearly across her marble face.

"Alice, what is it?" Jasper asked as he knelt in front of me. I took a deep unnecessary breath.

"Edward. He's going to go to the Volturi. He's going to create a scene so he can see her."

"But, he'll be killed if he does. It will all be in vain," he said. I shook my head.

"It doesn't matter to him as long as he sees her again, even for the shortest time. He loves her," I said shaking my head. I could hear Edward pacing his room trying to think. I told him not to call her, but he did anyway. Jasper took my hand and pulled me up.

"Come on. You need to relax. Then we can deal with Edward and his masochism," he led me to our room. I sighed as I leaned back into his chest on the couch. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. He nuzzled my neck.

"Calm down," he said. I couldn't feel the calmness radiating from him. I was instantly soothed. I turned to face him and touched my lips to his in a soft, innocent kiss. He soon turned it passionate and urgent. He swiftly flipped me and I looked up into his eyes. I reached up and planted soft kisses down his neck, kissing every scar he had from the wars he had fought. His hands traveled to my shirt and lifted it above my head. Not wanting to waste any more time, we both tore each other's clothes off. I was in heaven, well sort of, as he pushed into me. He covered my mouth in a searing kiss as I let out a moan of pleasure.

"Alice," he said. His voice was husky. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Jasper." I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. I rested my head on his chest as we lay there thinking of what was to come.

I apologize for the wait. I've been busier than I thought I would be. I know this is short, but the next chapter or 2 will be intense and I think you will love me very much. =)


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